BEADS AND BEADWORK
OF THE
AMERICAN INDIANS
A STUDY BASED ON SPECIMENS IN THE
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN,
HEYE FOUNDATION
BY
WILLIAM C. ORCHARD
***•—««.—••**
NEW YORK
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
192 9
^jt^j^ Smithsonian
£ ^3 Institution
X^}^ Libraries
Bequest
from the library
of
William C. Sturtevant
CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM THE
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
VOLUME XI
BEADS AND BEADWORK
OF THE
AMERICAN INDIANS
A STUDY BASED ON SPECIMENS IN THE
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN,
HEYE FOUNDATION
BY
WILLIAM C. ORCHARD
NEW YORK
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
19 2 9
LANCASTER PRESS, INC.
LANCASTER, PA.
JAN 1 5 i
CONTENTS
PAGE
Illustrations 6
Dedication 11
Introduction 1.3
Shell Beads 17
Shell Beads in General 17
Runtees, or Shell Discs 24
Discoidal Beads 25
Pearl Beads 29
Bone Beads 29
Stone Beads 32
Drilling 38
Metal Beads 47
Beads of Gold 47
Beads of Silver 57
Beads of Copper 59
Wampum 61
Wampum-making Tools 70
Odd Forms and Materials 74
Seed Beads 74
Basketry Beads 75
Wooden Beads 75
Gum Beads 75
Earthenware Beads 76
Beads of Dried Otter's Liver 78
Native Manufacture of Glass Beads 78
Other Aberrant Objects 81
Trade Beads 82
Age and Distribution 82
Manufacture 82
Varieties 83
Trade Values 87
Polychrome Glass Beads 89
Funnel Beads 90
Sinew-like Beads 91
Woven Beadwork 91
Square Weave 92
The Heddle 98
Bow-loom 100
Variations of the Square Weave 103
Bias Weave 112
Net-like Weave 121
Sewing Techniques 128
Edgings 135
Bead Inlays 136
Beaded Baskets 138
5
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
PAGE
I. Dentalium-shells with incised and snake-skin decoration. Hupa
of California 18
II. Powhatan's robe in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 20
III. Girdle made of shells. Isleta pueblo, New Mexico 22
IV. Huron necklace of wampum beads with a runtee attached 24
V. Huron necklace of wampum beads with circular shell pendant.. 26
VI. Necklace of silver made by the Navaho 58
VII. Tubular copper beads from Hewlett, Long Island, New York.. 60
VIIa. Flattened spheroidal beads of copper from Hewlett, Long
Island, New York 62
VIII. a, Fragment of a wampum belt of the Seneca of Cattaraugus
reservation, New York, b, X-ray photograph of the same,
showing the drilling of the beads 64
IX. a, Part of a wampum belt of the Seneca of Grand River reser-
vation, Ontario, b, X-ray photograph of the same, show-
ing the drilling of the beads 66
X. Regulation bunch of wampum prepared for trade by white
manufacturers in New Jersey 68
XI. Feathered breast-ornament decorated with seeds strung as beads
and sections of bird-bones. Jivaro Indians of Ecuador and
Peru 74
XII. Star or chevron beads from Ontario 84
XIII. Examples of polychrome trade beads 88
XIV. Tahltan loom with unfinished weaving 92
XV. Woven wrapping for a baby-carrier. Mono of Inyo county,
California 96
XVI. Sauk headdress ornamented with imitation wampum 110
XVII. Part of an Iroquois sash with white beads interwoven 116
XVIII. Necklace of small glass beads from Guatemala 118
XIX. Comanche cradle with woven beadwork decoration 120
XX. Neck-ornament of the Washo 122
XXI. Headband from San Juan river, Colombia 124
XXII. Elaborate shoulder-ornament of netted beadwork. Mono of
Inyo county, California 126
XXIII. Example of overlaid or spot stitch on a Delaware shoulder-strap 128
XXIV. Caughnawaga moccasin decorated with beadwork 130
XXV. Raised beadwork applied to birch-bark by the Mohegan 130
XXVI. Girl's coat from the Eskimo of the west coast of Hudson bay. . 132
XXVII. Cloth leggings of the Chippewa decorated with silk applique
outlined with fine lines of beads 132
6
ILLUSTRATIONS 7
PAGE
XXVIII. Iowa Indian hair-ornament made from a bison-tail, decorated
with wampum beads. From a sacred bundle 134
XXIX. Needle-cases of walrus-ivory inlaid with parts of beads.
Eskimo of Point Barrow, Alaska 136
XXX. Votive bowls made from gourds and incrusted with glass beads.
Huichol Indians, Mexico 138
XXXI. Porno basket of coiled weave with glass beads interwoven 138
FIGURES
1. Shell beads from San Miguel Island, California 18
2. Bead made from the hinge of a marine bivalve. Santa Ines Indians,
Santa Barbara county, California 18
3. Incised dentalium-shell from Washington 20
4. Method of attaching olivella-shells to thongs. Modoc 21
5. Method of attaching olivella-shells to fiber cords. Modoc 21
6. Method of attaching olivella-shells to fiber cords. Modoc 22
7. Method of assembling small shells in making a belt. Isleta pueblo,
New Mexico 22
8. Detail of tying of olivella-shells to a base composed of two strings.
Nevada 23
9. Method of assembling shells in a crochet-like stitch. Nevada 23
10. Rectangular pieces of shell tied to fiber cords with sinew threads.
Nevada 24
11. Discoidal beads assembled with a crochet-like stitch. Nevada 24
12. Diagram of a runtee from a grave in Cayuga county, New York 25
13. Shell object used as a bead or pendant. Taltal, Chile 27
14. Massive shell beads from the Rio Ulua, Honduras 27
15. Ornament of shell from Santa Marta, Colombia 28
16. U-shape shell object from Santa Marta, Colombia 28
17. Notched rectangular shell bead from Santa Marta, Colombia 28
18. Unfinished and finished bone beads from Hawikuh, New Mexico 30
19. Bone beads from Point Hope and Bristol bay, Alaska 31
20. Bone bead with incised decoration from Maine 31
21. Various forms of stone beads from Mexico 32
22. Enlarged drawing representing the form of miniature stone beads
and two kinds of drilling. Peru 33
23. Calcite beads from Jamaica 34
24. Stone bead inlaid with silver, from Mississippi 35
25. Bead of rock-crystal from the Valley of Mexico 35
26. Crystal beads from Santa Marta, Colombia 36
27. Beads of unusual shape from Magdalena, Colombia 36
28. Stone bead from Santa Marta, Colombia 36
28a. Steatite beads from San Miguel island, California 3S
29. X-ray photograph of shell beads from Niagara county, New York,
showing drilling 39
30. X-ray photograph of a long tubular bead made from the columella of
a conch, showing drilling. From a grave at Burrs Hill, Rhode
Island 40
8 BEADS AND BEADWORK
PAGE
31. X-ray photograph of a large bead from Lake Medad, Wentworth
county, Ontario, showing drilling 40
32. X-ray photograph of the columella of a conch showing the results of
four attempts at drilling, two from each end. From Hiwassee
island, Tennessee 40
33. X-ray photograph of a long tapering cylindrical bead made from the
columella of a conch, showing drilling. From Santa Barbara,
California 41
34. X-ray photograph of a bead made from haliotis-shell, from Santa
Cruz island, California, showing drilling 41
35. X-ray photograph of a stone bead from St. Davids, Ontario, showing
drilling 41
36. X-ray photograph of a tubular bead of jade from Nicoya, Costa
Bonito, New Mexico, showing drilling 42
37. X-ray photograph of four cylindrical beads of turquois from Pueblo
Rica, showing drilling 42
38. Fragment of a shell bead from Lake Valencia, Venezuela, showing
drilling 43
39. Stone bead from Santo Domingo with two perforations 43
40. Stone beads from Guerrero, Mexico 43
41. Tubular drill with copper cutting edge 44
42. Hand-drill. From a Mexican painting in the Bodleian Library,
Oxford. (After McGuire) 44
43. Rotating the hand-drill. From a Mexican painting in Oxford Uni-
versity. (After McGuire) 44
44. Typical drill-point of stone, showing mode of lashing 45
45. Bow-drill 45
46. Pump-drill 46
47. Agate bead from Canazas, Province of Veraguas, Panama 46
48. Ovoid bead of shell from San Luis Obispo county, California 46
49. Enlarged photograph of a bead made of gold pellets fused together.
Ecuador 48
50. Enlarged photograph of a gold circlet with pellets attached. Ecuador 49
51. Enlarged photographs showing the fusion of gold pellets and rings.
Ecuador 50
52. Enlarged photograph of a bead composed of gold pellets and entwin-
ing wire. Ecuador 50
53. Enlarged photograph of two beads made of gold pellets and wire.
Ecuador 51
54. Enlarged photograph of a gold bead composed of pellets and wire.
Ecuador 51
55. Enlarged photograph of a bead of sheet-gold made to represent the
pellet-and-wire technique. Ecuador 52
56. Rings formed of pellets of gold. Ecuador 52
57. Beads made of spirally twisted gold wire. Ecuador 53
58. Spheroidal gold beads. Ecuador 54
59. Spherical gold beads with a collar around the perforations. Ecuador 54
ILLUSTRATIONS 9
PAGE
60. Spherical gold beads with pressed designs. Ecuador 54
61. Necklace of gold beads. Ecuador 55
62. Tubular beads of thin sheet-gold, from Sinu river, Colombia 55
63. Tubular gold beads with wire ornamentation, from Sinu river,
Colombia 55
64. Tubular gold beads from Bocas del Toro, Panama 56
65. Gold-covered earthenware beads from Ulua river, Honduras 56
66. Gold beads from Florida 57
67. a, Gold bead in the form of a human skull, from Mexico, b, Cast
gold bead from Colombia 57
68. Bead of laminated copper from Caney Fork, De Kalb county,
Tennessee 59
69. Copper bead from Niagara county, New York 60
70. Bead made of flattened brass wire spirally twisted. British Colum-
bia 60
71. X-ray photograph of an Iroquois wampum necklace from Brantford,
Ontario 66
72. Wampum made without steel tools: found at Lewiston, New York.. 68
73. Tools for making " Dutch " wampum 71
74. Wampum making : Roughly shaping a piece of shell before drilling 72
75. Wampum making: Squaring the ends of the shell by grinding.... 72
76. Wampum making : Perforating a roughly shaped bead 73
77. a, Necklace of basketry beads and sections of bird-bone; British
Guiana, b, Necklace of incised wooden beads; Venezuela 76
78. Tubular bead of earthenware from Venezuela 77
79. Pottery beads grooved for stringing. British Honduras 77
80. Bird-form gold objects from Colombia '81
81. Blue-glass beads from St. Eustatius island, West Indies 85
82. Glass beads probably made for Moorish trade. Ontario county, New
York 86
83. Yellow glass beads made to represent grains of corn. New Jersey.. 86
84. Glass beads distributed by early traders in the West 88
85. Glass " funnel bead " from Ontario county, New York 90
86. Bead made of twisted spun glass. Tlingit 90
87. Technique of the square weave showing the use of a doubled thread
for the weft. Tahltan 92
88. Breast-ornament of woven beadwork. Astakiwi of Modoc county,
California 93
89. Detail of square weave showing the method of reducing the number
of warp-strands. Astakiwi of Modoc county, California 94
90. Basket covered with beadwork, woven spirally. Astakiwi of Modoc
county, California 95
91. Finely woven shoulder-bag of the Chippewa 96
92. Technique of the square weave showing the use of a single thread
passed through the beads from each direction 97
93. Detail of a beaded panel inserted in the fringe of an Osage pipe-bag 97
94. Wooden heddle of the Menomini 99
95. Detail of the arrangement of threads and beads in weaving : two
threads for the warp, one thread for the weft 100
IO BEADS AND BEADWORK
PAGE
96. Apron loom and partly completed apron. Arakuna Indians, upper
Essequibo river, British Guiana 101
97. Detail of the upper edge of a woman's apron 101
98. Patamona woman weaving a bead apron on a bow-loom 102
99. Apron of a Makusi woman of Ireng river, British Guiana 103
100. Single-thread warp and weft. Winnebago 104
101. Beaded garters of the Sauk 105
102. Technique of the weave of Sauk beaded garters 106
103. Bow-loom such as was used in weaving wampum belts 107
104. Technique of single-thread weave 108
105. Technique of double-thread weave 109
106. Detail of a variety of cross-weaving by the Guaymi Indians of
Panama Ill
107. Detail of the " skip weave " in neckbands from Nicaragua 112
108. Neckband of bias weave with horsehair warp- and weft-strands.
Fox Indians 113
109. Wampum necklace of bias weave. Penobscot 114
110. Detail of the bias weave. Fox Indians 115
111. Detail of a three-strand braid streamer. Kickapoo 116
112. Detail of variation in bias weave. The beads are strung on the
vertical threads. Chippewa 116
113. Detail of part of a beaded woven sash. Seneca 117
114. Detail of the weave of a Comanche bag for cigarette wrappers of
cornhusk 118
115. Arrowpoints with woven bead decoration, used as charms. Ute.... H8
116. Detail of weave in fig. 115 119
117. Detail of woven beadwork on the Comanche cradle shown in pi. xix 120
118. Detail of the mesh of the Washo neck-ornament shown in pi. xx 122
119. Detail of the mesh of the headband shown in pi. xxi 123
120. Network bag of the Yuma of Arizona 123
121. Detail of the technique of the Yuma network bag 124
122. Netted collar of the Mohave 125
123. Detail of the technique of the netted Mohave collar shown in fig. 122 126
124. Single-string foundation of beadwork from Nicaragua and Panama 126
125. Detail of netted necklace from Rio Napo, Ecuador 127
126. Detail of technique of a beadwork necklace from British Guiana 128
127. Detail of the overlaid or spot stitch 129
128. Detail of the " lazy stitch " 129
129. Example of the " lazy stitch " on a panel of a Sioux beaded pipe-bag 130
130. Beaded pouch of the Iroquois of Grand River reservation, Canada.. 133
131. Detail of two-beaded edging 135
132. Detail of single-beaded edging 135
133. Detail of two-beaded line-work 136
134. Labret of walrus-ivory with bead inlay. Eskimo of Point Barrow,
Alaska 137
135. Lsevicardium shell ornamented with disc beads. San Miguel island,
California 138
136. Nootka basket made of cedar-bark with glass beads interwoven 140
To MRS. THEA HEYE
Through whose deep interest in the arts of the American Indian,
and through whose generosity the Museum collections have been en-
riched with many of its finest examples of beadwork, this volume is
respectfully dedicated by
The Author
ii
INTRODUCTION
BEADS owe their origin to the desire by primitive man for
personal adornment; but so ancient are they that attempts to
trace their earliest sources have thus far been futile. So far
as the New World is concerned, beads in a great variety of shapes
and materials have been found on prehistoric sites almost everywhere,
and some of them are undoubtedly of great age. It is therefore evi-
dent that early aborigines of the Western Hemisphere were quite
familiar with the use of beads for purposes of adornment, in some
cases as potent charms and in others as a medium of exchange. But
many of the uses to which beads were put by early man can only be
surmised. Their use was and is worldwide. It is my purpose in the
present paper to treat the subject of beads as they were employed by
the American Indians, with special reference to the technique of
beadwork.
The accepted definition of a bead is " a little perforated ball of any
suitable material intended to be strung with others and worn as an
ornament, or used to form a rosary." Forms in as great a variety as
the materials of which they are made have been found, so that the
" little perforated ball " is only one of many forms included in the
term. The prevailing conception of a bead, however, is that of an
object with a central perforation ; but in many instances the perfora-
tion does not occur centrally, hence it becomes difficult to differentiate
beads from pendants. Indeed there are so many forms that, unless
it is perfectly obvious that the object is other than a bead, it has been
given the benefit of the doubt and classed as a bead.
Many of the older varieties of beads are extremely crude, some ex-
amples consisting merely of a suitably shaped stone or a pebble hav-
ing a natural perforation, or a waterworn fragment of shell with
either a natural or an artificial aperture. It is possible that some such
objects may have been the earliest forms of beads. Other crude
forms are those known as St. Cuthbert's beads, which are the single
joints of the articulated stems of encrinites, a central perforation per-
mitting them to be strung.
" On a rock by Lindisform
St. Cuthbert sits and toils to frame
The sea-born beads that bear his name."
13
14 BEADS AND BEADWORK
Many examples of crude beads have been found in association with
others of exquisite workmanship, denoting that some of the former
were in use after evident efficiency in beadmaking had been attained.
Materials used for beadmaking include gold, silver, copper;
precious and semi-precious stones in great variety; bird, mammal,
and fish bones, including teeth and ivory, and in some instances hu-
man bone; many kinds of marine and freshwater shells, and pearls,
and finally vegetal materials. Seeds were easily strung and made into
necklaces and other ornaments; specimens of such, in all probability
prehistoric, have been found intact with their original strings in dry
caves. Even modern Indians still have a fondness for seeds used in
this manner. From the far Northwest there are examples of strung
seeds of the silverberry {Elceagnus argentea), while in the tropics
highly-colored seeds are greatly admired by the natives. As esthet-
icism progressed among the ancient peoples they became more and
more proficient in the manufacture of beads of a truly artistic char-
acter until ultimately remarkable results were achieved.
With the coming of Europeans to America there were introduced
trade beads which were so highly prized by the natives that in many
places they superseded the beads of native make. With noteworthy
ingenuity the Indians developed an almost endless variety of objects
calling for the use of trade beads, both for personal adornment and
for the ornamentation of ceremonial and utilitarian articles.
. The first record of the introduction of trade beads among the
American Indians goes back to Columbus and his landing on Watling
island on October 12, 1492.1 His log states :
Soon after a large crowd of natives congregated there. ... In order
to win the friendship and affection of that people, and because I was con-
vinced that their conversion to our Holy Faith would be better promoted
through love than through force, I presented some of them with red caps
and some strings of glass beads which they placed around their necks, and
with other trifles of insignificant worth that delighted them and by which
we have got a wonderful hold on their affections.
Oct. 15. A man from Conception Island was presented with a red cap
and a string of small green glass beads.
This was the very beginning of the introduction and the use of
foreign beads by the Indians. In later years travelers and traders
found the natives on the mainland equally receptive, and from the
1 From a translation of Las Casas's abridgment of Columbus's First Voyage,
in Fox, G. V., An Attempt to Solve the Problem of the First Landing Place of
Columbus in the New World, pp. 354-55, 360, Washington, 1882.
INTRODUCTION 15
earliest historic times vast quantities of beads found their way among
the Indians through various European channels, resulting in the well-
known work in beads of glass and of other materials which has been
so highly and artistically developed. That beads must have been an
important factor in early trade is evident from the vast numbers that
have been found in graves and on village-sites ; and, judging by the
great quantities of bead-embellished artifacts from many tribes and
covering long periods down to the present time, there has been little
diminution in the demand.
Prior to the use of beads as a form of embellishment, porcupine-
quills dyed in varying colors were applied with unsurpassed workman-
ship to garments and ornaments, producing exquisite designs.2 The
technique of quill decoration had attained such a high degree of per-
fection at the time of the introduction of trade beads that the Indians
found little or no difficulty in applying novel decorative methods with
the new materials supplied them by Europeans.
The various techniques employed by the American Indians in pro-
ducing their numerous forms of bead ornamentation, described in
this memoir, are based on a study of the great number of specimens
in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. However
extensive these collections may be, this account is not presented in the
expectation that it will be found complete, for it is probable that other
techniques may be shown by a study of other collections, while for
the same reason other striking forms of beads of native make may
have been omitted.
Various interesting references to the use of European beads in
America are made by early travelers. Lewis and Clark,3 for example,
found a certain blue bead to have great value among the Indians of
the Columbia River region, the bead referred to probably being the
" cut-glass bead " found in great numbers in the Northwest. These
explorers stated that
in the evening Seven indians of the Clot sop 4 Nation came over in a
Canoe, they brought with them 2 Sea otter Skins for which they asked
blue beads &c. and Such high prices that we were unable to purchase them
without reducing our Small Stock of Merchendize, on which we depended
for Subcistance on our return up this river, mearly to try the Indian who
^ 2 Orchard, W. C, The Technique of Porcupine-quill Decoration among the
North American Indians, Contr. Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., vol. iv, no. 1,
1916.
3 Lewis and Clark, Original Journals, vol. in, p. 244, New York, 1905.
4 The Clatsop, a Chinookan tribe on Columbia river, Oregon.
16 BEADS AND BEADWORK
had one of those Skins, I offered him my Watch, handkerchief a bunch of
red beads and a dollar of the American coin, all of which he refused and
demanded ' ti-a-co-mo-shack ' which is Chief beads and the most common
blue beads, but new of which we have at this time.
The writer wishes to acknowledge his great obligation to Dr. Elsie
Fox, of New York City, for the X-ray photographs, reproduced here-
in, which have been so helpful in the study of bead drilling, and to
Mr. Louis Rosenberg, the well-known bead manufacturer and im-
porter, also of New York City, who has generously given his time
and knowledge concerning trade beads.
W. C. Orchard
SHELL BEADS
Shell Beads in General
FOR the manufacture of beads by the aborigines of America, no
material was more commonly used than shell, as is shown by
the vast numbers which from time to time have been recovered
by excavation of ruins, village-sites, and graves throughout the two
continents. Even since the introduction of glass beads there are
individuals in some tribes of the United States and elsewhere who
still practise the art of making beads of shell with primitive imple-
ments, the only adaptation of introduced tools being that of steel in-
stead of stone for drill-points, and perhaps hammer and pincers.
Many an Indian may still be seen in the Southwest wearing strings
of beautifully made shell beads of recent manufacture, particularly
among the Pueblo tribes. These are regarded as of far greater value
than any beads of foreign introduction for the reason that shell is a
sacred material which, coming from the water, in a measure symbol-
izes the power of that life-giving fluid to a people living in a semi-
arid land whose religious practices have such an important relation to
rainfall. It is only within comparatively recent years that glass beads
have become popular with the Pueblos, and even now they are worn
only by children to any considerable extent, although such beads
found their way to these Indians with the coming of the first Spanish
explorers and missionaries in the sixteenth century. A few objects
of Pueblo manufacture, both ancient and modern, are decorated with
glass beads, where flat surfaces could be covered. Sometimes Pueblo
necklaces consist of beads, including those of shell, which the natives
themselves have unearthed from ruins in their country.
The numerous forms of ancient shell beads have been so ade-
quately described and illustrated in reports on archeological research
that repetition will not be attempted. The chief forms of shell beads
are discoidal, spherical, tubular, barrel-shape, ovate, rectangular,
conical, truncate, and several odd forms in a wide range of sizes.
Many of the small marginella and olivella shells have been used
with merely the point ground off or perhaps having an aperture made
in the outer wall to permit the passage of a string. Dentalia likewise
have been used as beads, with a string passing from end to end.
17
2
i8
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Fig. 1.— Shell
beads from San
Miguel island, Cal-
ifornia. Actual
size. (9/5122,5123
5125)
A large number of shell beads in a wide variety of sizes and shapes,
usual with such material, were found by the Mrs. Thea Heye expedi-
tion to San Miguel island, California. Some of these are worthy of
special mention by reason of their incised-line decoration. Fig. 1, a,
is a truncated cone bearing cross-hatching around
the sides and with a narrow plain band at the
apex. In b is seen another form of truncated
cone with panels of cross-hatching around the
sides. In c and d are represented more or. less
spherical beads, the former having parallel lines
encircling each end, with lengthwise lines be-
tween, the latter cross-hatched to within a slight
distance of the perforation at each end. In e is
shown one of a considerable number of small
discoidal beads incised with cross-hatching over
the circumference. The sizes of this group vary
from about one-sixteenth to one-quarter of an
inch in diameter, and are of proportionate thick-
ness. Many of the smaller examples are made from the narrow
ends of dentalium-shells.
The decoration applied to this series of beads is remarkable when
their size is considered. We have no knowledge of the manner in
which this minute engraving was done. It can only be surmised that
a small sharp chip of stone, possibly mounted in a wooden handle with
bitumen, formed the incising tool. To accentuate the ornamentation,
the engraved lines were rilled with black pigment, much of which still
remains.
Beads made from the ends of dentalia show that the natural per-
forations were enlarged to accommodate a thread to fit them for use
as necklaces or other ornaments. The drillings in the larger beads,
which can be more easily seen, show the use of such primitive tools
as would have been used before
the introduction of steel by Eu-
ropeans.
Fig. 2 illustrates one of about
a hundred beads collected from
the Santa Ines Indians of Santa
Barbara county, California, made
from the hinge portions of a marine bivalve, probably the rock-oyster.
All are more or less curved like that shown in the drawing, and each
Fig. 2. — Bead made from the hinge
of a marine bivalve. Santa Ines In-
dians, Santa Barbara county, Cali-
fornia. (6/3881)
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
I
DENTALIUM-SHELLS WITH INCISED AND SNAKE-SKIN DECORATION. HUPA OF CALI-
FORNIA. (1/2537)
SHELL BEADS 19
has a central depression. Perforations were made with a steel drill
from each end, meeting in the center. In many cases the drilling
reaches the surface in the depression, so that when the beads are
strung the thread is there exposed. In several such beads the de-
pression is filled with bitumen, and it is probable that all of them
had once been similarly treated. The shell is white, veined with
crimson, and in color presents a pleasing appearance ; but uniformity
of size being disregarded, the ensemble is rather disorderly.
Dentalium-shells of the Pacific coast having been subjected to wide
distribution through barter, they have been used as a medium of
decoration by many tribes from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Some of
the mid-continental tribes used them extensively, sewing them in pat-
terns to their clothing and baby-carriers, wearing them in the form
of necklaces and in other ways. But besides being esteemed for their
decorative value, among some of the California tribes dentalia became
of even greater value as a medium of exchange. The shells vary in
length from about an inch to nearly three inches; but only the long
shells had a monetary value, that is, those exceeding about an inch
and three-quarters, the value increasing with the length. The Hupa
valuation of a large dentalium in early days was equivalent to five
dollars, while the smallest represented fifty cents. A detailed de-
scription of the valuation is recorded by Goddard.1 A source of in-
formation on the Shasta of northern California notes :
The property given for a wife formerly varied greatly, but an average
price is said to have been one or two deerskins, fifteen or twenty long
dentalia, ten or fifteen strings of disk beads, and twenty or thirty wood-
pecker-scalps.2
When used as money the shells were wrapped spirally with narrow
strips of snake-skin, sometimes with fish-skin; or a short section of
a small snake-skin, while soft and pliable, might be stretched on the
shell. The large end was further embellished with a little tuft of red
feathers from a woodpecker's crest.
Two strings of dentalium-shell beads are shown in pi. i. One has
the regulation skin wrappings; the other, in all probability intended
for a necklace, is interspersed with glass beads. Four of the shells
are elaborately ornamented with incised lines into which black pig-
ment has been rubbed to emphasize the etching.
1 Goddard, P. E., Life and Culture of the Hupa, Univ. Calif. Publ. Amer.
Archaeol. Ethnol., vol. i, 1903.
2 Dixon, R. B., The Shasta, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xvn, pt. v, p.
465, 1907.
20
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Several decorated dentalium-shells bearing incised designs (fig. 3)
were found at an archeological site in Washington. Possibly these
shells were thus ornamented and used by California Indians, later
finding their way to the north through intertribal bar-
ter and finally becoming prized possessions of their
ultimate owners in Washington.
Two remarkable strings of beads were collected
from the Santa Ines Indians of Santa Barbara county,
California. These were made from sections of the
smaller ends of dentalium-shells, and are remarkable
for their numbers. One string is eight and a half
feet in length, the other forty-one and a half feet.
Containing on an average of thirty-three beads to the
inch, there are approximately twenty thousand beads in
the two strings. Many of the beads are less than a
sixteenth of an inch in diameter. Irregular ends,
which would result when the sections were severed
from the shell, have all been smoothly ground, and,
perhaps owing to continued use, have received a high
polish. Even if spread over a long period of time the
manufacture of these two strings would have proved
a task requiring prodigious patience.
California has been a prolific source of small shell beads. Thou-
sands of small discoidal beads made from the walls of olivella or
marginella shells, an eighth of an inch, more or less, in diameter, have
been found, in many cases retaining the slight curvature of the shell.
No doubt many were made for purposes other than stringing as neck-
laces. Their uses are described in another section of this paper.
Other localities have yielded great numbers of similar beads, but
not in such quantities as have been found in California.
Quantities of small shells of the genera marginella and olivella
have been found from time to time during the exploration of mounds
and graves, which have had their points ground off in order that a
string might be passed lengthwise from point to lip and thus fit them
for use as beads. In some instances they have been found in masses
so disposed as to indicate their use as breast-ornaments or as decora-
tions for robes, in which event broad surfaces had been covered. In
other cases they have been found in such manner as to make obvious
their use as necklaces. Again, they were scattered in such confusion
that it was not possible to determine their purpose. Explorations by
Fig. 3.—
Incised den-
talium-shell
from Wash-
ington. (4/
2956)
ORCHARD BEADS AND BEADWORK
POWHATAN'S ROBE IN THE ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFORD
SHELL BEADS
21
the Museum on Hiwassee island, Tennessee, brought to light several
such cases.3 Here Harrington reported rinding two skeletons cov-
ered from chin to waist with olivella-shells, which led to the belief
that some kind of garment had been decorated with them. Another
skeleton had the upper part covered with similar shells, which bore
traces of having been worked into a pattern. Still another had a shell
collar, while two had strings of shells which in all probability had
served as necklaces.
Disintegration had been
so thorough in all these
burials that the shells
could not be removed
and yet be kept in the
relative positions in
which they were found.
The regular disposition
was such that there is
little or no doubt as to
how the shells were used,
although nothing re-
mained to indicate whether they had been sewn to a leather back-
ground or had been woven into a fabric.
A leather robe col-
lected in the latter part
of the sixteenth or early
seventeenth century, said
to have been the " habit
of Pohatan, King of
Virginia," which is now
in the Ashmolean Mu-
seum at Oxford, Eng-
land, is ornamented with
small seashells (Margin-
ella nivosa) which have
had their points ground
off and have been sewn
to the garment with threads of sinew. The design represents animal
and human forms, and circular patterns (pi. u). There is every
Fig. 4. — Method of attaching- olivella-shells to
thongs. Modoc. (10/9600)
Fig. 5. — Method of attaching olivella-shells to
fiber cords. Modoc. (10/9601)
3 Harrington, M. R., Cherokee and Earlier Remains on Upper Tennessee
River, Indian Notes and Monographs, Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, misc. 24, 1922.
22
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Fig. 6. — Method of attaching olivella-shells to
fiber cords. Modoc. (10/9601)
reason to believe that at least some of the material which Mr.
Harrington found in Arkansas was originally of this form of deco-
ration. Very little, if any, of this kind of work, aside from the
Ashmolean garment,
exists today. Several
specimens of a woven
technique made by mod-
ern Indians, however, are
in the collections of the
Museum of the Amer-
ican Indian, which may
represent survivals of an
_ old art. Three spec-
imens collected from the
Modoc of California are
in the form of neck-
___, ornaments, each having
a different method of
attaching the shell beads,
as shown in figs. 4-6.
Fig. 4 illustrates the
weaving on soft-tanned
leather thongs with fiber threads to fasten the shells, while the spec-
imens represented in figs. 5 and 6 are supplied with a cord base and
small threads to attach
the shells to the cords.
As the movements of
the attaching threads are
somewhat intricate, the
drawings will indicate
their trend more graph-
ically than a description.
Another ornament made
of shells was collected
from the Tigua Indians
of Isleta pueblo, New-
Mexico (pi. in). In
this the cords and
threads are made of a
soft cotton material of native spinning
Fig. 7. — Method of assembling small shells in
making a belt. Isleta, New Mexico. (5/240)
The movements of the
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
"-. '
GIRDLE MADE OF SHELLS. ISLETA PUEBLO, NEW MEXICO. (5/240)
SHELL BEADS
23
several threads are complicated, as is the case with the Modoc speci-
mens, but are clearly shown in the drawing (fig. 7).
Lovelock cave, Nevada, has yielded specimens that reveal two in-
teresting methods of attaching olivella-shells to strings for probable
use as necklaces or bracelets. 3a Fig. 8 shows how two strings have
been used as a base, with a single
string passed through a shell and knot-
ted to the double string. A number
of shells have been attached in this way
with a knot between each two shells,
all drawn tightly together so that the
knots are covered by the lip of the
shell. Fig. 9 illustrates the common
crochet stitch in which the thread is
made to loop through one loop after
another. The shells are attached by
passing the thread through from point
to lip between loops. In this case the
shells are not close together, but are
separated by two or three loops. The
threads are well made of some uniden-
tified fiber.
It is evident from the quantities re-
covered that olivella-shells were very
F -■ 8— D - P°Pu^ar wherever obtainable. They
tail of tying of have been found in profusion in both Fig. 9.— Meth-
olivella-shellsto the eastern and the western area of hHn^^e^fTn
a base composed AT . Dlins snens in
of two strings North America, and sparsely in the a crochet-like
Nevada. (13/ Middle West of the United States, f^^6™^'
where no doubt they found their way
by intertribal barter.
Other fragments were found in Lovelock cave with the shells
strung on strips of leather and on fiber cords. The points of all the
shells were ground off to permit the passage of a string. Two other
interesting techniques were found in the same cave, consisting of
3a While this is passing through press the report on Lovelock Cave by L. L.
Loud and M. R. Harrington {Univ. Calif. Publ. Amer. Arches ol. Ethnol., vol.
25, no. 1, Berkeley, 1929) makes its appearance. The authors describe (p. 105)
three methods of attaching olivella-shells, one of which is similar to that shown
in our fig. 8, except that our specimen has but one knot between the shells.
Further examination of a number of fragments in the Museum collections,
however, discloses the two-knot variety.
24
BEADS AND BEADWORK
some strung beads which were made from the outer wall of the
olivella.
Fig. 10 illustrates a number of rectangular beads
with grooved cuts across the convex side of the
pieces of shell, instead of circular perforations.
The grooves are cut deeply enough to penetrate the
shell in the center of the curve. A strand of sinew
was used to tie the beads, one overlap-
ping the other, to a pair of fiber
cords, a knot between each two beads.
A pendant made from musselshell is
at one end of the two strings.
The other technique is shown in
eight fragments of what may have
been a necklace. The combined length
of the pieces is 21 inches, and there is
every indication that they originally
formed one piece. The beads are dis-
coidal, three-sixteenths of an inch in
diameter, with circular perforations.
They are threaded on a fiber cord in
such manner that one overlaps the
other (fig. 11), and are held in place
with a stitch similar to that shown in
fig. 9.
Fig. 10.— Rec-
tangular pieces
of shell tied to
fiber cords with
sinew threads.
Nevada. (13/
4660)
Fig. 11.—
Dis c o i d al
beads assem-
bled with a
crochet- like
stitch. Ne-
vada. (13/
4647)
Runtees, or Shell Discs
Shell ornaments of the kind known
as runtees, believed to be an English corruption of the French arrondi,
" rounded," have been found in widely separated localities in the
East. They vary from an inch to an inch and three-quarters in
diameter, and from an eighth to three-sixteenths of an inch or more
in thickness. They are supplied with two lateral perforations.
There has been some discussion as to the use of these objects, some
authorities considering them more of the character of pendants than
of beads. During the exploration of a Munsee cemetery in New
Jersey a number of runtees were found in positon on two skeletons,
clearly indicating their use as beads in necklaces.4 On the other
4 Heye, G. G., and Pepper, G. H., Exploration of a Munsee Cemetery near
Montague, New Jersey, Contr. Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., vol. n, no. 1,
1915.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
HURON NECKLACE OF WAMPUM BEADS WITH A RUNTEE ATTACHED. (11/7513)
SHELL BEADS
25
hand, in the Museum collections there is a Huron necklace consisting
of wampum, beads with a runtee so disposed on the string as to jus-
tify its designation as a pendant (pi. iv). Another Huron wampum
necklace (pi. v) has a discoidal shell ornament, without the lateral
perforations, which also is obviously a pendant. The terms bead
and pendant, therefore, are arbitrary, and as it is not possible to
segregate the two classes of objects either by size or by use, we
shall treat the runtees as beads.
Seven runtees of approximately the same size were found with a
burial in Cayuga county, New York,5 ornamented with an incised
design as shown in fig. 12, in which the parallel lines at the side indi-
cate the thickness of the ornament
and the position of the lateral per-
forations. Judging by the accuracy
with which the conventional design
on these runtees was produced, it
is evident that they were made
after the Indians had obtained iron
implements, the pattern resulting
from the use of a pair of dividers.
The central point is very distinct on
all the specimens, as are the points
on the inner ring where the leg of
the instrument was placed to incise
the arcs that form the star-like de-
sign. The cross-hatching between the lines made by the dividers
was apparently scratched with a sharp-pointed implement. The
perforation of each of these runtees is true and bears every indi-
cation of having been made with a steel drill, but how the implement
was rotated we have no means of knowing. Nevertheless, the use of
implements supplied by Europeans, rather than detracting from his
artistic ability, enabled the Indian to conceive new if more conven-
tional decorative patterns.
Reference will be made later to runtees of the Virginia Indians
mentioned by Beverley.
Discoidal Beads
The most numerous of all shell beads are those of discoidal form,
which in diameter range from a sixteenth of an inch to an inch and a
half or more. Their distribution is wide; indeed they were made
Fig. 12. — Diagram of a runtee
from a grave in Cayuga county,
New York. Actual size. (9/4831)
5 Skinner, Alanson, Notes on Iroquois Archeology, Ind. Notes and Monogr.,
Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., misc. 18, 1921, p. 63.
3
26 BEADS AND BEADWORK
wherever suitable shells were obtainable, and from the fact that sea-
shells have been found far in the interior of the continent it is evident
that the raw material and probably the finished articles passed from
tribe to tribe through barter. On the Pacific coast, particularly
among the tribes of California, such beads, from a quarter to a half
of an inch in diameter, have been called wampum and were a medium
of exchange; and similar beads were used for a like purpose by the
Indians of the East.
The comparative ease with which discoidal beads could be made is
perhaps the reason for their abundance. The method of manufacture
has been observed at Zufii pueblo, New Mexico, where they are still
made in quantities. The principal implements are a pump-drill and a
flat stone on which the shells are rubbed and shaped, although some
of the more progressive beadmakers use also pincers for breaking the
shells into suitable bits, somewhat larger than the finished bead is to
be. Originally the shell was roughly shaped by means of a hammer-
stone. In place of a stone drill-point, the end of a small three-
cornered file is sharpened so that with a few revolutions of the pump-
drill and the frequent application of water, the perforation of the
roughly- shaped piece of shell is completed, first from one side, then
from the other. The drilled pieces are then strung on a string
eighteen inches or more in length, knotted at one end so that the un-
finished beads may be crowded tightly on the string. A naked length
of the string is held firmly in one hand and wrapped around with two
or three turns. With the string of unfinished beads held in this
manner a pressure exerted by the thumb on the last bead so crowds
them together that they become almost rigid. In this condition the
strung lengths are laid on the sandstone slab and rolled over the sur-
face of the stone back and forth with the free hand, the hand holding
the end of the string remaining stationary. Water and grit, some of
which comes from the stone, are liberally supplied to facilitate the
abrasion of the rough edges. A groove along one edge of the slab is
provided as an adjunct to the smoothing operation. The beads are
drawn back and forth in the groove, which helps to keep them of
equal size. Sometimes a piece of wood with a corresponding groove
is rubbed over the beads while lying in the stone groove.
By this process, not a very long one, a well-shaped and finished
string of beads is produced. The shell most esteemed by the Zufii
for. beadmaking is the Olivella biplicata, which has a slightly purplish
tinge. Traders at Zufii accept such beads in strings of about twenty-
ORCHARD BEADS AND BEADWORK
HURON NECKLACE OF WAMPUM BEADS WITH CIRCULAR SHELL PENDANT. (11/7514)
SHELL BEADS
27
four inches in trade to the amount of two to three dollars, to the en-
tire satisfaction of the Indians.
The same methods are applied by the Zufii in their manufacture of
turquois beads, but a much longer time is expended on these because
of the hardness of turquois and the greater difficulty both of drilling
and of grinding ; besides, it is necessary to grind and polish both faces
of a turquois bead, one bead at a time, a process not required in the
case of the shell beads.
It may be assumed that most, if not all, of the prehistoric discoidal
beads were made in the manner described, except, of course, that iron
implements were not used.
Fig. 13 illustrates a shell bead or pendant of odd shape, one of a
large number found in a grave in the vicinity of Tal-
tal, Chile. All of them were perforated with a
broadly tapering drill for stringing. They range in
size from three-sixteenths to half an inch in width.
There is nothing in connection with these objects to
suggest how they were used. The protuberance at
one end would prevent them from hanging regularly
on a string in the form of a necklace, unless some-
thing of the character of tubular or disc beads were
placed between them. Possibly they were assembled in
a mass as a breast ornament, or sewn to a garment in
some such manner as elk-teeth are used by some of the Indians.
Some massive shell beads (fig.
14) from the region of Ulua
river, Honduras, are of two
forms, tubular and globular, both
rather crudely shaped, especially
the spherical ones. The tubular
beads are about three inches long
by seven-eighths of an inch in
diameter, and have unusually
large perforations, as shown in
the illustration. The perfora-
tions apparently were made by
drilling from each end, and then
Fig. 14.-Massive shell beads from sm°othed throughout, so that the
the Rio Ulua, Honduras, f. (4/3963) walls are nearly parallel. One
Fig. 13.—
Shell object
used as a
bead or pen-
dant, from
Taltal, Chile.
(13/5141)
28
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Fig. 15.—
Ornament of
shell from
Santa Marta,
C o 1 ombia.
Actual size.
(13/7701)
end of several of the tubes is encircled with two incised lines, which,
however, have suffered from disintegration of the shell.
The globular beads have smaller perforations, which likewise were
made by drilling from each end in such manner as to
taper toward the center, where the point of junction is
more or less irregular in each case.
An odd type of shell object is illustrated in fig. 15.
A number of this general form, both quadrilateral and
square, were obtained in Santa Marta, District of
Magdalena, Colombia. In size they vary from a
quarter to half an inch square, by seven-sixteenths to
three-quarters of an inch long. There is a circular
depression in each, made with a blunt-pointed reamer,
through which are two perforations. A V-shape
groove has been ground in each edge, probably for ornamentation.
The fact that only one face has been thus treated suggests that these
objects were not made to be strung in the usual manner, as in a
necklace, while the two perforations would seem to indicate that they
were designed to be sewn on a garment or on some ornament for
personal adornment.
Another unusual shell form, represented in fig. 16,
approaches an inverted U in shape, with a perforation
through the center of the arc as
indicated by the dotted lines. The
mode of use of this object, as in
the last specimen, is in doubt. It
would of course be possible to
string a number of such objects to-
gether, but their shape would sug-
gest use as pendants rather than as
beads.
There were also obtained
Fig. 16. — U-shape
shell object from
Santa Marta, Co-
lombia. Actual
size. (13/7703)
Fig. 17.—
Notched rec-
tangular shell
bead from
Santa Marta,
Colombia.
Actual size.
(13/7702)
were aiso oDiamea in
Santa Marta a number of rectangular beads of shell (fig. 17), vary-
ing in size from five-sixteenths to five-eighths of an inch in length
and one-eighth inch thick. They are deeply notched from two op-
posite edges toward the center and are provided with tapering per-
forations drilled from the narrow end of each notch. There is no
evidence to justify the classification of these objects as beads. The
lengthwise drilling would permit stringing, and it would also be
possible to sew them to a flat surface of fabric or of tanned leather
PEARL AND BONE BEADS 29
either as ornaments or as fastenings. These were found in associa-
tion with the two odd forms from Santa Marta above described.
PEARL BEADS
Pearls from freshwater mussels have been perforated and used as
beads. In the report on his researches on Tennessee river,6 Mr. M.
R. Harrington describes and illustrates several such beads; and
Prof. F. W. Putnam, while excavating a mound near Madisonville,
Ohio,7 found " not less than fifty thousand pearls, most of them
pierced and injured by heat." Ornaments made from haliotis pearls
were found on San Miguel island, California,8 during excavations by
the Museum expedition. Some of them were undoubtedly used as
beads.
BONE BEADS
The use of bone, especially bird-bone, for the manufacture of beads,
was widespread, and with few exceptions the product is so nearly
uniform in character and the method of manufacture, in all probabil-
ity, so similar that a general description will include the entire class.
Such beads have been found in abundance, particularly in Pueblo
ruins of the Southwest,9 where climatic and soil conditions are such
that bone has been preserved for centuries.
The bones employed were usually the femur, ulna, or radius, pre-
ferably of birds, although corresponding bones from small mammals
were also used.
Fig. 18 illustrates a series of unfinished and finished objects from
the ruins of the Zuhi pueblo of Hawikuh which were probably in-
tended for beads. Many bones were severed and ground for other
purposes, and in some cases it is not possible to determine which were
beads and which were not. The drawing shows a bone (a) which
has been scored preparatory to breaking off two sections. The scor-
ing or cutting was done with a sharp-edged flake of stone, or with a
piece of thin sandstone which would cut in the manner of a file.
> 6 Harrington, M. R., Cherokee and Earlier Remains on Upper Tennessee
River, Ind. Notes and Monogr., Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., misc. 24, 1922.
7 Proc. Amer. Asso. Adv. ScL, 1884.
8 Heye, G. G., Certain Aboriginal Artifacts from San Miguel Island, Cali-
fornia, Ind. Notes and Monogr.. Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., vol. vn, no. 4,
1921.
9 Hodge, F. W., Hawikuh Bone work, Ind. Notes and Monogr., Mus. Amer.
Ind., Heye Found., vol. in, no. 3, 1920.
30
BEADS AND BEADWORK
<n^
d
Another section of bone (b) indicates by the jagged edges that it
was not cut off entirely by scoring, but was broken off when the cut-
ting was carried far enough to
insure easy breaking. So many
such fragments have been found
as to lead to the belief that this
was the common procedure in the
primary process of beadmaking
from bone. In the finished bead
or tube (d) the jagged edges
have been smoothed, in all proba-
bility on a sandstone slab. This
class of beads was no doubt
very easy to produce, and it is
found in a great variety of sizes.
Fig. 19 represents three beads
collected from the Eskimo at
Bristol bay and Point Hope,
Alaska. They are of denser
bone than those obtained from
birds, and are skilfully made
and ornamented with incised
designs. The specimens shown
in a has a number of circular
depressions around the center, no
doubt intended to hold inlays
which may have been small glass
beads. The ornamentation of
objects with inlaid beads, a com-
mon practice among the Alaskan
Eskimo, is elsewhere referred to
in this paper (see page 136).
Two beads made from small bird-bones were found in a shellheap
on Hog island near Pemaquid, Maine. One of them, although some-
what disintegrated, bears an incised design (fig. 20) typical of the art
of the modern Indians of Maine and is found especially on thin
wooden objects, such as knife-handles, splint-cutters, etc. Nothing
of European origin was found in association with these two beads,
but some stone skin-scrapers and a few fragmentary bone awls were
in the same shellheap, while excavation nearby also revealed bone
Fig. 18. — Unfinished and finished
beads made of bone. Hawikuh, New
Mexico.
BONE BEADS
31
cu
Fig. 19. — Bone beads
from Alaska, a, c, Point
Hope; b, Bristol bay.
Actual size. (5/477;
9/123, 124)
implements, as well as pottery fragments. The absence of European
materials suggests that the beads were made before contact with
whites, or at least before Caucasian influence had affected native arts
by blending the ancient and modern decora-
tive devices of these Maine Indians.
Sections of fish-vertebrae required little
or no artificial perforation for stringing.
They have been found in many parts of
the country under conditions which point
conclusively to their use as beads.
In addition to the use of bone for bead-
making, teeth in their entirety have also
been employed, especially in Central Amer-
ica and South America, where small monkey-
teeth, perforated laterally through the root
ends, were strung in the form of necklaces
and have a particularly striking appearance
when graded according to size. The teeth
of other animals have likewise been used by Indians in those parts
both for necklaces and for other articles of adornment.
The Indians of northern North America used the teeth of buffalo,
wolf, and elk. In modern times the teeth of domestic animals have
not been scorned as objects for personal adornment.
The mandibles of certain crustaceans
have been employed to a slight extent for
making necklaces, but their shape does not
lend itself to orderly arrangement as beads.
Perhaps the most gruesome of all neck-
ornaments are human finger-tips that have
been desiccated and perforated for stringing.
Two such necklaces in the Museum, one from the Ute, were un-
doubtedly prepared as charms rather than strictly for purposes of
adornment. From such information as was obtainable it is learned
that the finger-tips in one case were taken from a slain enemy, a state-
ment not at variance with the recorded custom of taking a part of an
especially valorous warrior in order that the victors might thus be-
come embued with his spirit of bravery. Possibly the custom of tak-
ing finger-tips bore some relation to that of extracting the heart of an
enemy killed in battle and dividing it among the victors. Among
Indians generally, however, such things were regarded with the same
Fig. 20.— Bone bead
with incised decoration
from Maine. Actual size.
(9/3299)
32
BEADS AND BEADWORK
repugnance as by white people. Indeed there are some who have
such great fear of the dead that they would not touch a corpse in
any circumstance.
STONE BEADS
Fig. 21 illustrates a group of stone beads of the more common
forms from Mexico. In several cases the beadmaker took advantage
of the natural shape of a pebble and drilled it without any attempt at
shaping. Very many such rude beads have been recovered during
*
'■ ". :■
*J?
rn
J
Fig. 21. — Various forms of stone beads from Mexico. Actual size.
excavations. It cannot be stated positively whether or not these were
used for ornamental purposes ; but it hardly seems probable that such
were employed as objects of embellishment when we consider the re-
markable degree of esthetic culture attained by the early Mexican
tribes, unless, there having been a well-recognized caste system in
ancient Mexico, the esthetic taste of the lower classes may have been
satisfied with ornaments so crude. There is a possibility that these
STONE BEADS 33
pebbles, unaltered except as to perforation, were used as tallies or
counters, the fact that they are drilled not necessarily indicating that
they were strung for use as necklaces. None of the Mexican fabrics
reported by early chroniclers now survive, hence it is not possible to
say that perhaps they were employed as loom- weights. Other beads
of this group are symmetrically shaped and polished, and no doubt
were used for personal adornment. There is a variety of perfora-
tions— some are biconical, made with a blunt-pointed stone drill,
others have nearly parallel borings effected with either a solid or a
hollow drill of some material capable of carrying an abrasive. Fig.
21, g, h, j, are of jadeite; i is of Amazon stone; k is probably neph-
rite ; the others are of unidentified stone.
In the Museum collections are many remarkable miniature stone
beads from ancient Peru, Ecuador, New Mexico, Arizona, California,
and Nevada. Most of these tiny beads are made of a black stone,
some identified as steatite. From Hawikuh, New Mexico,10 there
are a number of beads of turquois, and thousands fashioned from the
same material were found in the ruins of Pueblo Bonito xx in Chaco
canon of the same state, among which are some very diminutive ones.
Most of these turquois beads are discoidal. Some have tapering per-
forations, others apparently were
drilled through uniformly. It is prob-
able that the tapering apertures in
some of the softer stone were after-
ward worked straight in the process
of finishing the beads, while those of Fig. 22.— Enlarged drawing
other beads were worn evenly from representing the form of minia-
, . ture stone beads and the two
long use on a string. Turquois beads kinds of drilling. The central
and other ornaments have been found dot illustrates the actual size of
•, «.,. ,, - ,« -n 1.1 some of these beads. Peru,
in many localities south of the Pueblo
region through Central America to the Argentine Republic.
Fig. 22 illustrates the shape of the miniature beads and the two
kinds of perforations. The size of the beads varies from about one-
sixteenth of an inch and less in diameter, and are proportionately
thin. Some of the perforations are so small that it seems almost
incredible that a stone-pointed drill could have been used, yet that is
10 Hodge, F. W., Turquois Work of Hawikuh, New Mexico, Leaflet no. 2,
Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., 1921.
11 Pepper, G. H., Pueblo Bonito, Anthr. Papers Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol.
xxvn, New York, 1920.
34
BEADS AND BEADWORK
the only plausible way in which such work could have been accom-
plished. After the introduction of iron by Europeans the operation
would have been comparatively simple. Many of these beads, how-
ever, were found under such conditions as to leave no doubt of their
prehistoric origin.
The method employed by modern Indians in manufacturing dis-
coidal stone beads is the same as that described for shell beads of
similar form : that is, to shape the stone roughly with the white man's
tools, such as
hammer, pincers,
and file. The
pieces are next
bored with a
steel point ro-
t a t e d with a
pump-d rill or
perhaps with a
bow-drill (figs.
45, 46). The
drilled pieces are
then strung on
a wire or a
string, and the
edges are ground
and smoothed
on a flat or a
grooved stone
provided with
fine grit and
water, until discs
as nearly perfect as possible are produced. The faces of the disc
are also smoothed by rubbing on a flat stone. The prehistoric peoples
undoubtedly employed similar methods, using chipping implements
made of bone or antler, and hammerstones, instead of metal tools.
What motive power was employed for their drills is not positively
known; but the spindle- whorl was in use in prehistoric times, and
there is every reason to believe that the same principle was applied
to a drill. The tiny bead represented with the enlarged drawings
in fig. 22 is one which, with others, came from Peru.
Fig. 23 illustrates a series of calcite beads from Jamaica. They
Fig. 23. — Calcite beads from Jamaica. Actual size.
(12/575-578)
STONE BEADS
35
Fig. 24.— Stone
bead inlaid with
silver, from Missis-
sippi. Actual size.
(7601)
have biconical perforations, apparently made with a stone-pointed
drill. Some of the beads are constricted and incised at the middle,
and supplied with a lateral perforation at that point.
Fig. 24 illustrates a stone bead approaching the shape of a pear,
unique both in form and decoration, found in Mississippi. The
parallel perforation is through the center from
top to bottom. The surface is incised and inlaid
with fine threads of silver, which apparently
have been rubbed or, burnished with some such
object as a polishing stone, causing the metal to
spread and grip the rough edges of the incisions,
thus holding it in place. The design suggests
leaf-stems or grasses.
Represented in the Museum collections from
Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador,
are beads of rock-crystal in various forms and
sizes. Fig. 25 illustrates an example from the
Valley of Mexico, oblate spheroid in form, three-quarters of an inch
in maximum diameter and seven-sixteenths of an inch following the
perforation. The conical perforation was drilled from each end,
meeting at the center in a small opening. A broad-pointed stone drill
may have been used to commence the drilling, but by reason of the
high polish of the wall of the perforation it is reasonably certain that
some such implement as a wooden rod was
used with some fine abrasive material to com-
plete the work. The surface of the bead is
similarly polished.
Outline drawings of tubular beads of rock-
crystal from Santa Marta, Colombia, are pre-
sented in fig. 26. These are of interest be-
cause of the drillings, which may be clearly
seen in the specimens and are indicated by
dotted lines in the drawings. The complete
bead shown in a is bored from each end to-
ward the center, the tapering aperture bearing
evidence of the wearing of the drill as the
operation progressed. In this instance a stick was probably used as
a drill, which was capable of carrying a fine grit during its revo-
lutions : an arduous task indeed when one considers the hard material
of which the beads are made. Nothing is known of the method of
Fig. 25.— Bead of
rock-crystal from the
Valley of Mexico.
Actual size. (5/6977)
36
BEADS AND BEADWORK
i
/
VI
I I
I I
I !
I I
I •
i I
i !
* i
1 I
ill
y,
revolving the drill in this example. There are several ways in which
the operation may have been performed : these are described in an-
other section of this paper. The dotted lines show, by the perfora-
tions not meeting at the center, that the drill was not held true, which
is frequently the case when perforations were made from each end of
a bead of this type.
Fig. 26, bJ shows a fragment of a bead, one end of which is pol-
ished, while the other is fractured. The drilling in this instance was
evidently made with a shaft of wood which
wore away more rapidly than that used for
drilling the other specimen. Both are
beautifully polished on the outer surface.
From the same place there are several other
beads of this class, of sizes ranging from a
quarter of an inch to two inches long, all of
them equally well finished.
In the same collection are forty or more
small discoidal beads of rock-crystal, from
three-sixteenths to three-eighths of an inch
in diameter and from one-sixteenth to three-
sixteenths of art inch thick. These were all
perforated from both sides with an ex-
tremely wide-angle drill-point, the tapering depressions averaging
half the width of the bead.
From the same place in Colombia are a number of cylindrical beads
of carnelian, ranging in length from three-eighths of an inch to three
Fig. 26.— Crystal beads
from Santa Marta, Co-
lombia, showing drilling,
f. (13/7715, 7716)
Fig. 27. — Beads of unusual shape
from Magdalena, Colombia. Actual
size. (13/7723, 7724)
Fig. 28. — Stone bead from Santa
Marta, Colombia. Actual size. (7/
7717)
inches. All are remarkably well fashioned and polished. Their per-
forations were made by the method employed in drilling the crystal
beads.
STONE BEADS 37
In this group are included some odd-shaped objects, also made of
carnelian, which from their drilling were evidently intended to be used
as beads. The forms are illustrated in fig. 27. Each is notched at
one end; the perforations are lengthwise, one extremity being at the
bottom of the notch.
Discoidal, barrel-shape, and spherical beads, from one-quarter to
about seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, are represented in the
carnelian group. All of them were made with the same care and skill
as the beads of rock-crystal, and evidently are the product of the same
people.
Another unusual form of beads, from the same region in Colombia,
is shown in fig. 28. There are several of this kind from three-six-
teenths to seven-sixteenths of an inch in length. The perforation is
shown by the dotted line. These objects are of a hard gray stone,
and although properly classifiable as beads, they may have been used
more as pendants. The knotted end of a cord might easily be con-
cealed in the tapering perforation.
Worthy of mention are six four-sided tubular beads of catlinite
from Ledyard, Cayuga county, New York, five-eighths of an inch to
two and a quarter inches in length, by an eighth to three-sixteenths of
an inch in breadth. All of them have been perforated from end to
end with a steel drill. Except for the drilling they are not examples
of fine workmanship, as the sides are misshapen.
Beads of many kinds of stone have been found throughout the
continent, but so far as the Museum collections are concerned, Mexico
has contributed a far greater number than any other area. Most of
these are of simple forms, such as are shown in fig. 21, drilled for
suspension without other artificial modification. Other forms are
tubular, cubical, barrel-shape, and spheroidal. In addition to artifi-
cial shaping, some examples are decorated. A few are fashioned in
the form of a muskmelon, with deeply cut and rounded ribs ; others,
of the tubular type, are embellished with incised lines around the ends.
All are beautifully shaped and polished.
Beads similar to those of Mexico have been found in Central Amer-
ica as well, but they are not so numerous. California 12 has yielded
large numbers of stone beads of many sizes. The simple ones are of
hard stone, but when it was desired to produce more or less elaborate
12 Heye, G. G., Certain Aboriginal Artifacts from San Miguel Island, Cali-
fornia, Ind. Notes and Monogr., Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., vol. vn, no. 4,
1921.
38
BEADS AND BEADWORK
beads the readily worked steatite was used. In fig. 28a is shown a
representative series of beads from San Miguel island.
From California also are beads of amethyst, but these are relatively
few, perhaps because of the scarcity of the material or the difficulty
of working it.
Fig. 28a. — Steatite beads from San Miguel island, California.
(9/5018, 5019, 5021-25)
Actual size.
Among the objects from Peru is a tubular bead of lapis lazuli,
beautifully shaped and polished, about three-quarters of an inch long
and a quarter of an inch in diameter.
DRILLING
Vast numbers of beads fashioned by the natives from stone, shell,
bone, and metals have been recovered during the excavation of both
prehistoric and historic sites. In style they vary from the extremely
rude to the most elaborate and ornate in form and design; indeed it
would be difficult to praise too highly the skill displayed in the manu-
facture of some of the beads of the ancient Americans. So remark-
able are the perforations of some of the beads of bone, shell, and
particularly stone, that the student is puzzled to know how they were
DRILLING 39
made. Metal beads, later to be described, were so fashioned that
drilling was unnecessary. Bone offers little resistance to a stone-
pointed drill, or even to a drill made entirely of wood when used with
grit as a cutting agent, and shell may be drilled by the same process
with almost equal ease.
The method of perforating thin discoidal beads of bone or shell is
simple. A hard stone point set in the end of a wooden shaft and
revolved in alternating directions between the hands quickly pene-
trated these materials; but if the object to be drilled was very hard
Fig. 29. — X-ray photograph of shell beads from Niagara county, New York,
showing drilling. (8/8550) Photograph by Dr. Elsie Fox.
stone, more time would necessarily have been required. If drilled
from one side only, a tapering perforation resulted. The drilling of
globular or tubular beads was usually commenced from opposite sides.
In cases where a stone drill-point was used, the perforation became
more or less biconical according to the shape of the point ; but if an-
other type of point was used, such as a rod of wood or a reed with
sand as an abrasive, the wall of the perforation had a tendency to be
uniform. So far the drilling is a comparatively easy process, if time
and patience are not considered ; but when some of the long, slender,
tubular beads are examined, — examples that show it to have been far
from probable that a stone-pointed drill was used, — one gains no
positive knowledge of the manner in which the perforations were
made. Many kinds of drills of various materials have been sug-
gested as having been used for this purpose.13 It is well known that
sand used in conjunction with a rod of wood of suitable texture will
cut the hardest stone, hence one may conjecture that some such ma-
terials were employed in boring the long tubular beads referred to.
For such a drill the wood must of course be just tough enough to hold
the grains of sand firmly in its surface. Soft wood could not thus
hold the sand and it would wear away much more quickly than the
13 Handbook of American Indians, Bull. 30 Bur, Amer. Ethn., pt. 1, Wash-
ington, 1907, s.v. Drills and Drilling. McGuire, J. D., A Study of the Primi-
tive Methods of Drilling, Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus. for 1894, Washington, 1896.
Holmes, W. H., Handbook of Aboriginal American Antiquities, Bull. 60 Bur.
Amer. Ethn., pt. 1, Washington, 1919.
40
BEADS AND BEADWORK
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DRILLING
41
material being perforated, as would likewise be the case with wood
that was too hard to allow the sand to become embedded.
Fig. 33. — X-ray photograph of a long tapering cylindrical bead made from
the columella of a conch, showing drilling. The cross lines are the convolutions
of the shell. From Santa Barbara, California. (2/3370) Photograph by Dr.
Elsie Fox.
Reproductions of a number of X-ray photographs by Dr. Elsie
Fox are introduced (figs. 29-37) to illustrate some of the remarkable
results obtained by drilling. Some of the objects may appear to be
Fig. 34. — X-ray photograph of a bead made from
haliotis-shell, from Santa Cruz island, California,
showing drilling. (6/3157) Photograph by Dr.
Elsie Fox.
too long for use as beads; but from the nature of their finish, the
amount of work evidently expended on them, and the fact that they
are drilled from end to end for the accommodation of a string or a
Fig. 35. — X-ray photograph of a stone bead from St. Davids, Ontario, show-
ing drilling. (5/4169) Photograph by Dr. Elsie Fox.
thong, they may perhaps be so classed. It may be mentioned that
most of the objects illustrated were made before the introduction of
metal tools.
Judging from the borings of the tubes, the most feasible method
by which the work could have been accomplished was by the use of a
42
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Fig. 37. — X-ray photograph of four cylin-
drical beads of turquois from Pueblo Bonito,
New Mexico, showing drilling. Actual size.
(5/1162) Photograph by Dr. Elsie Fox.
&
o
TO
— 'J3
O g
.a
3
X
rod and sand. Several methods of rotating
the drill may have been known to the makers,
other than the tedious processes of twirling it
between the hands or of rolling it along the
thigh with one hand while holding the object
being perforated against the point of the drill
with the other.
A good example of drilling is shown in fig.
38, which illustrates a broken shell bead from
Lake Valencia, Venezuela. The boring has
been done from each end, apparently with a
solid drill, probably of wood,, with grit as a
cutting agent. The markings on the wall of
the perforation clearly show where particles of
the grit; adhering to the drill during a number
of revolutions, have cut deeply into the shell.
The tapering perforation is the result of the
wearing of the drill as the operation pro-
ceeded. The lower part of the fracture shows
the meeting point of the drilling from the two
ends.
An odd feature is presented in the drilling
of many stone beads from some of the islands
of the West Indies. These beads are all tubu-
lar, and some bear incised decoration. In ad-
dition to the usual lengthwise perforation, a
lateral drilling has been made. Fig 39 illus-
trates a bead treated in this manner, collected
with others in Santo Domingo. The dotted
lines indicate the courses of the two perfora-
tions. Nothing in connection with these beads
has been found that would suggest the purpose
DRILLING
43
of the extra perforation. Similar, specimens have been found in
Montserrat, St. Vincent, Jamaica, Cuba, and Porto Rico.
A number of tubular stone beads with un-
usual perforations have been found in Guer-
rero, Mexico. They range from three-quarters
of an inch to about two inches in length, and
are of the same general form as that shown in
fig. 40, a, which is of nephrite and measures an
inch and a quarter in length. Instead of the
perforation passing entirely through the bead,
short drillings have been made from each end,
which are met by others bored in the sides.
A discoidal jade bead from Guerrero (fig.
40^ b) has been partly drilled with a hollow
drill. The core is intact, with the exception of
a small flake broken from the top. For some
reason this drilling was not finished, but a
smaller perforation was made through the
core. The implement used for the larger drill-
ing was hollow, with sand as an abrasive ; but
as its wall is slightly undercut from the top
down, the use of a metal cylinder that had
spread during the drilling is suggested, rather
than a reed, which would have worn quickly and made a boring that
would have become smaller in diameter as it proceeded. The smaller
perforation, which tapers very slightly, in all probability was made
with a solid pointed drill of wood or bone, or of some such material
capable of carrying a sharp cutting grit as the drill revolved. Hollow
Fig. 38. — Fragment
of a shell bead from
Lake Valencia, Vene-
zuela, showing drill-
ing. Actual size.
(6/1641)
Fig. 39.—
Stone bead
from Santo
Domingo, W.
I., with two
perforations.
Actual size.
(13/6190)
pIG# 40. — Stone beads from Guerrero, Mexico,
size. (9/3118, 1/1202)
Actual
44
BEADS AND BEADWORK
metal drills have been described by McGuire.14 Fig. 41 ilustrates
a drill with the cutting edge made of sheet-copper wrapped around
a wooden rod which constitutes the drill-shaft. The fact that the
edges of the copper are not soldered or fused makes it
possible for such a drill-point to expand during its rev-
olutions. There is no positive information as to the
method of revolving the drills, but some reproductions
of two native Mexican drawings (figs. 42, 43) show
• t
Fig. 41.—
Tubular drill.
Fig. 42. — Hand-drill. From a Mexican painting in the
Bodleian Library, Oxford. (After McGuire)
drills revolved between the palms of the hands of the workmen. A
typical stone point for a drill is illustrated in fig. 44, showing a
method of lashing the point in the split end of a wooden shaft.
Fig. 43. — Rotating the hand-drill. From a Mexican
painting in Oxford University. (After McGuire)
14 A Study of the Primitive Methods of Drilling, Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus. for
1894, Washington, 1896.
DRILLING
45
The bow-drill, the pump-drill, and probably the strap-drill were
known from early times, and there is every reason for attributing at
least some of the bead perforations to the use of one or the other of
these effective implements. The long tubular bead from Costa Rica
(fig. 36) exhibits an expenditure of many days'
labor in the drilling alone, without considering
the amount of work necessary to smooth and
polish the exterior.
Fig. 44.— Typ-
ical drill-point
of stone, show-
ing mode of
lashing.
Fig. 45. — Bow-drill.
Fig. 45 represents the usual form of bow-drill. The shaft is shown
with a block on its upper end ; this may be of wood or of any other
suitable material, and is furnished with a depression in which the
shaft revolves. The purpose of the block is to hold the shaft in its
required position while the perforation is being made, and to exert
the proper amount of pressure or weight. Many of the Eskimo
make the block so that it may be conveniently held between the teeth,
and it is supplied with a stone or an ivory socket to receive the shaft,
thus giving the worker a free hand for holding the object to be drilled.
In other parts of the continent the block is held in one hand while the
bow is worked with the other; in this case an assistant is required to
hold the object, unless some other means has been contrived.
The pump-drill (fig. 46), a very efhcient implement, consists of a
vertical shaft, a disc or spindle-whorl, and a horizontal cross-bar pro-
vided with a round aperture large enough to slide freely up and down
46
BEADS AND BEADWORK
the shaft. A string is attached to each end of the cross-bar and
passed through a small hole at the upper end of the shaft, or other-
wise is secured at that point. Several twists of the shaft wrap the
string around spirally and at the same
time draw the cross-bar toward the top
of the shaft. Downward pressure on the
cross-bar unwraps the string and re-
volves the shaft, which, by the added mo-
mentum given by the
disc acting as a fly-wheel,
wraps the string around
the shaft again in the
opposite direction and
draws up the cross-bar
ready for another down-
ward pressure. These
movements keep the drill
revolving first in one
direction, then the other.
The pressure is controlled
Fig. 46. — Pump-drill.
Fig. 47.—
Agate bead
from ! Cana-
zas, Prov-
ince of Vera-
guas, Pana-
ma. §. (13/
1837)
mainly by the weight of the disc, which may be made of wood,! stone,
or pottery, attached firmly to the shaft. Any kind of cutting point
may be secured in the end of the shaft. Two forms are shown in
figs. 41 and 44 — one a tubular drill of thin copper, the other a stone
point lashed to the shaft.
From a number of agate beads found at Canazas, Province of
Veraguas, Panama, one is selected to show the manner of drilling.
Fig. 47 illustrates the form, the dotted lines indicating the course of
Cross section
Front view
Fig. 48. — Ovoid bead of shell from San Luis Obispo county, California, show-
ing drilling, h (11/3948)
the perforation which has been made from each end of the bead.
The beads belonging to this group are not all of the same form
and size, some being tubular and others spherical or nearly so. But
they all bear the same remarkably fine polish, to produce which, even
METAL BEADS 47
with modern implements such as are used by a lapidary, would be no
slight undertaking. The labor expended by primitive workers, there-
fore, in making such a bead with a stone hammer perhaps to shape
the object roughly, other stone implements to smooth and polish the
surface, and hardwood splints and sand to make the perforations, can
perhaps be imagined. Beads of agate have been found wherever the
material is native.
Fig. 48 represents a shell bead made from the wall of a conch, from
San Luis Obispo county, California. The curvature of the shell
would not permit a straight perforation from one end, hence, as the
drawing indicates, the drilling was made from each end, meeting in
the center. The appearance of this perforation would suggest the
use of a wooden drill with sand.
METAL BEADS
Beads of Gold
Perhaps the most remarkable of all beads made by early Americans
are some of those fashioned from gold. Many have been brought to-
gether for the Museum from various localities in Central America and
South America. A very large number of such beads came to light at
La Tolita on the Island of Tola near the mouth of Santiago river,
north of the city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Negroes living in the
vicinity of La Tolita have from time to time dug in the mud for gold.
These operations have yielded quantities of beads and other orna-
ments of such exquisite design and workmanship as to be worthy of
the highest praise for their minute detail of execution. Indeed some
of the work is so microscopic that it is difficult to understand how
some of the objects could have been made without the aid of a magni-
fying glass and the delicate tools of a modern jeweler. According to
Prof. M. H. Saville these objects are all examples of pre-Columbian
art.
The beads alone will be described in this paper; the other orna-
ments will be the subject of another publication. With these finished
objects quantities of prepared gold and unfinished specimens were
found, but practically nothing that sheds light respecting the character
of the tools used in their manufacture, with the exception of about a
dozen small chisel-like objects of gold which indeed may be no more
than prepared material, and some pieces of thin beaten gold in the
form of tweezers.
48
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Under the classification of prepared gold there are some small
pellets, ranging from about one sixty-fourth of an inch to about one-
eighth of an inch in diameter, many of which have been used in the
manufacture of beads and other ornaments. It has been suggested
that these pellets may have been made in some such way as bird-shot
was formerly manufactured, i.e., by pouring melted metal through a
screen and allowing it to fall from a greater or lesser height into
water. Dr. E. P. Robinson, of Newport, Rhode Island, who is
greatly interested in mechanics of ancient peoples, has demonstrated
a method of producing small pellets of gold in a manner much more
practicable, and has probably employed the same method as did the
goldworkers of La Tolita. With the aid of a blowpipe and a flame
Dr. Robinson has reduced some small pieces of gold to a molten state
on an asbestos block. As soon as they reached that state they as-
sumed a globular form which they retained after cooling.
There is little doubt that the ancient Indian goldsmiths understood
the value of a blowpipe and used it, but of what it was made we can
only surmise. A hollow reed would an-
swer the purpose, and as nothing of a
less perishable material has so far been
found, we may assume that something of
the kind was employed.
Other forms of prepared material from
La Tolita are in the shape of wires of
various gauges, and strips or ribbons that
appear to have been beaten into shape
rather than drawn. There are also some
sheets of gold which no doubt were ham-
mered into shape. It is not improbable
that an assortment of tools, probably of
stone, were overlooked by the treasure-
hunters in their zealous search for the
precious metal.
In some cases the beads and other or-
naments have been made of a combination
of the forms of prepared material, and
in others entirely of one form, but in
every instance remarkable perfection of
workmanship is shown.
Fig. 49 illustrates a bead made entirely of globules or pellets com-
i
Fig. 49. — Enlarged photo-
graph of a bead made of
gold pellets fused together.
The small object in the cor-
ner shows the actual size of
the bead. Ecuador. (1/
7452)
METAL BEADS 49
posed of six rows or tiers with six globules in a row. There is an
opening through the middle of the group for the passage of a string.
The illustration reproduces an enlarged photograph of the specimen
and also of the bead in its actual size, three-sixteenths of an inch long.
There are many specimens of beads fashioned in this manner which
are smaller in their ensemble and are composed of smaller globules ;
but the larger specimen was selected for convenience in illustrating.
In this type of bead, globules of uniform size were placed together in
tiers, probably around a central core of non-fusible clay or mud to
hold them in place while being permanently brought into an insepa-
rable mass, apparently by fusing. Many specimens have been ex-
amined with a view of substantiating the theory that fusing was em-
ployed, but no trace of anything suggesting the use of solder has been
discovered. On the other hand there are a number of specimens
showing where the parts have run together, their identity being al-
most lost, in all probability owing to the application of too great heat.
The spaces between the globules illustrated in fig. 49 show distinctly
where the gold was melted just enough to form a bridge between the
component parts, some of the joints showing a greater amount of
fusion than others. Some form of flux must have been used to
bring about the proper union of the globules, but what it was is, like
the tools, an unanswered question. After the fusion had taken place,
the core, if of the material suggested, could
easily be removed, leaving the clear perfor-
ation found in all the beads of this kind.
Fig. 50 illustrates a circlet composed of
twelve globules fused to a hoop of wire.
This particular form may have been made
for some purpose other than a bead. It is
of interest, however, on account of the size I
and regularity with which the globules are ^ -_ ^ ,
, . , , , • Fig. 50. — Enlarged pho-
disposed around the ring. tograph of a gold circlet
The objects shown in fig. 51 without ™jth Pellets attached.
, ,, . . 1 . _ The actual size of the
doubt were made for use as beads. The specimen is shown in the
globules are mounted between two rings of ?™r' Ecuador- 0/
wire fused together. In b of this figure is
shown an imperfect ring on the upper side ; the ends are not cut square
and have not been brought together, but few cases of this kind occur.
Fig. 52 presents an intricate twisting of a wire around the globules
between the rings above and below. Considering the actual size of
50
BEADS AND BEADWORK
the bead, which is shown by the side of the enlargement, it is diffi-
cult to reach a conclusion as to how the parts were held together, let
alone being shaped, before fusing.
In fig. 53 are shown the large central
beads forming part of the necklace illus-
trated in fig. 61. The larger one is com-
posed of twelve globules mounted between
two hoops of twisted square wire, and the
whole between hoops of round wire, four
rings in all. The maximum diameter of
this example is a quarter of an inch.
Fig. 54 illustrates a more complicated
%, piece of work, consisting of twelve glob-
Fig. 51. — Enlarged pho-
tographs showing the fu-
sion of gold pellets and
rings. The actual size
of the objects is shown
in the corners. Ecuador.
(1/7453)
Fig. 52. — Enlarged photograph
of a bead composed of gold pel-
lets and entwining wire. Ecua-
dor. Note the actual size shown
in the corner. (1/7453)
ules with a square wire interwoven. In the figure two of the
rows of globules are obscured, but the ornament presents the same
appearance on the opposite side. The passage for a string is length-
wise of the bead, and the square wire is looped at each end, making
circular openings. The actual size of the bead is shown by the side
of the enlargement.
The enlarged photograph of a tubular bead reproduced in fig. 55
commands special interest for the reason that this ornament is not
composed of the usual globules and wire, but is formed from a piece
of thin sheet-gold, with a pattern, evidently produced by hammering
or by pressure, representing a series of wires turning spirally around
the tube and encircling the openings at each end, while between the
METAL BEADS
51
wires a number of globules are inserted. An overlapping joint ex-
tends lengthwise of the bead where the pattern matches perfectly, dis-
playing remarkable skill in workmanship. The overlapping joint has
the appearance of having been fused rather than soldered.
Fig. 53. — Enlarged photograph of two
beads made of gold pellets and wire.
Ecuador. Actual size of the beads is
shown in the corner. (1/1229)
Fig. 54. — Enlarged and
actual size of a gold bead
composed of pellets and
wire. Ecuador. (1/7456)
In fig. 56 is shown a group of small rings of varying diameters,
each composed of a number of gold globules fused together, which
may be incomplete parts of beads to which hoops of wire were to have
been added, or they may have been made for use as ornaments other
than beads.
Fig. 57, a, b, reproduce photographs enlarged and in actual size of
a form which is very suggestive of beads. Quantities are in the col-
lection, and are of varying sizes. This particular form does not
occur as parts of other ornaments from La Tolita, and as there are
many of them which are of uniform size as to length and diameter of
wire, there is justification for classing them as beads. With very few
exceptions they are made of a rounded wire wrapped spirally, prob-
ably around a core of the desired size, which could be withdrawn
when the wrapping was completed. This core may have been an-
other piece of gold wire. The exceptions are some that are made of
a wire which has the appearance of having been rolled from a square
strip, probably between two flat stones. Lengthwise irregularities
52
BEADS AND BEADWORK
visible on the rounded surface are shown distinctly in the enlargement
(fig. 57, c), which indicate where the edges of the square strips may
have been turned over in the rolling operation, causing the irregulari-
ties to appear. Such markings might occur on a drawn wire, but it
is hardly possible that the early goldworkers knew anything of that
process of wire-making.
A group of spheroidal beads made of thin sheet-gold is shown in
fig. 58. They are composed of two hemispherical parts. The sheet-
gold must have been pressed or hammered into a die made of some
material much harder than the gold, which
would resist the pressure and allow the
gold to be shaped into a small cup-like
form. It is possible the die may have
been made of stone, as might have been a
stamp to fit the die, for many of the beads
are of the same shape and size. The
edges of the cup-like sections have been
brought together, some overlapping a
little, and the two parts fused into one.
It is possible that the joint was rubbed or
smoothed, since many of the finished
I
Fig. 55. — Enlarged pho-
tograph of a bead of
sheet-gold made to repre-
sent the pellet-and-wire
technique. Ecuador. The
actual size of the bead is
shown at the side. (1/
7456)
O o o
0 *> 0
o
o o
o o o
Fig. 56. — Rings formed of
pellets of gold. Ecuador.
Actual size. (1/7426)
beads show little if any joint, hence their appearance of having been
made after the cup-like pieces were formed, but before they were
fused together. A few of the spheroidal beads are provided with a
collar of wire around the perforations (fig. 59).
METAL BEADS
53
A series of hollow beads, illustrated in fig. 60, are ornamented with
pressed designs. Although very much battered, three in this group
show conclusively that they
were made in the same die,
in two pieces and in the
manner described for the
beads shown in fig. 58.
These designs alone estab-
lish the fact that a form of
stamp and die was used by
the ancient artisans in the
manufacture of hollow
beads.
Fig. 61 portrays a neck-
lace of beads made of glob-
ules between two or more
rings which are shown in
detail in fig. 53. It is not
intended to convey the im-
pression that the beads are
on the original string. The
conditions at La Tolita are
such that anything of such
a perishable nature as a
string, whatsoever the ma-
terial, would have disap-
peared through decay.
Other parts of South
America, and also Central
America, have yielded gold
beads, but to the present
time nothing has been dis-
covered in any way re-
sembling the remarkably
Fig. 57. — Beads made of spirally twisted
gold wire. Ecuador. Enlarged and actual
sizes. (1/7448)
minute beads from the re-
gion of La Tolita.
A number of beads were
collected on the Sinu river, Colombia, two of which are illustrated in
fig. 62. They are crudely made of thin sheet-gold rolled into tubular
form. As may be seen in the illustration, the ends are turned in,
*******
*******
*******
*******
54 BEADS AND BEADWORK
either to eliminate the sharp edges or for ornamentation. The length-
wise joints are crudely made and seem to have been slightly fused.
Five other tubular
beads from the same
region show a highly
advanced degree of
the goldsmith's art
(fig. 63). They are
half an inch long and
a quarter of an inch
in diameter. An inner
tube of very thin gold
forms the foundation
for two whorls of a
T7 co cu mi uu A tt a ,i ,*,a<>a\ continuous wire, and a
Fig. 58. — Spheroidal gold beads. Ecuador. (1/7434) . , ,
wire wrapped around
spirally at each end of the tube. There are indications that the parts
were held together by fusing. One of the beads of this group, how-
ever, instead of having a spiral wire at each end has a three-strand
braided wire wrapped once around. This feature exhibits a remark-
* U 9 f * $
*IM <& % 9
Fig. 59. — Spherical gold beads with
a collar around the perforations. Fig. 60. — Spherical gold beads with
Ecuador. (10/9925) pressed designs. Ecuador. (10/9957)
able piece of work. The braiding is so close and tight that it seems
hardly possible that this could have been accomplished with metal
wires. The ends of one of these braided bands are so well brought
together that the joint is not visible.
In strong contrast are some tubular beads from Bocas del Toro,
Chiriqui, Panama (fig. 64). These are made of hammered sheet-
gold with unevenly cut overlapping edges along the lengthwise joint,
and with no attempt at fusion or other process for making a tight
joint.
METAL BEADS
55
A very fine-grained pottery has been used for making the three
well-shaped spherical beads shown in fig. 65, from the region of the
Ulua river, Honduras. They are covered with a thin sheet of gold.
Fig. 62.— Tu-
bular beads of
thin sheet-gold,
from Sinu river,
Colombia. (5/
3983)
Fig. 61. — Necklace of gold
beads. (1/1229) See fig. 52
for detail of beads.
Fig. 63. — Tubular gold beads
with wire ornamentation, from
Sinu river, Colombia. (5/3982)
A micrometric reading gives two one-thousandths of an inch thick-
ness for a fragment of the covering. The gold has been applied and
made to adhere in a way that not a trace of a joint is visible. The
surface appearance suggests burnishing, which might have been done
after fusion to obliterate overlapping joints and uneven places; but
this is conjectural. How this remarkable piece of work was accom-
plished must remain a mystery. Reference to ancient Mexican clay
beads covered with gold-leaf has been made by Saville.15
15 Saville, M. H., Goldsmith's Art in Ancient Mexico, Ind. Notes and
Monogr., Mus. Amer, Ind., Heye Found., misc. 7, 1920, p. 17.
56 BEADS AND BEADWORK
Examples of gold beads from Florida in the Museum collections
are shown, actual size, in fig. 66. They are nearly solid and appear to
have been made somewhat after
the manner of spun metal. It is
possible that in such cases a
piece of gold was. drilled and put
on a spindle of some kind which
could be revolved, and while re-
volving, instead of heavy pressure
being applied as in the case of
spun metal, the piece of gold was
hammered into shape and the
hammer marks afterward re-
moved with some abrasive mate-
rial. The large oblate spheroidal
bead on its end in the illus-
tration shows where the gold has
Fig. 64.— Tubular gold beads from been beaten out and over the
Bocas del Toro, Panama. (8200) .., .. ,, .
core-like center, spreading a thin
sheet into the required bead form. The smaller bead in the center of
the group shows the effect that might be produced by hammering and
revolving, but in this example the gold has not been spread so much as
in the larger one. The two barrel-shape beads were made in the same
manner.
Fig. 65. — Gold-covered earthenware beads from Honduras. (6/1293)
From the Valley of Mexico there is a bead in the form of a human
skull (fig. 67, a). It is of solid gold, with the perforation made from
side to side, and is seven-sixteenths of an inch long.
A bead of unusual workmanship is shown in fig. 67, b, which is of
an inferior quality of gold cast in a mold. The metal is very thin,
and the design is composed of eight spiral discs with rings at each
METAL BEADS
57
tt
end and one in the middle. This is an excep-
tionally fine piece of casting. A translation of
the Nahuatl text describing the methods employed
by the Aztecs in making molds and casting gold,
recorded by Sahagun, is to be found in Saville's
work above cited. The specimen illustrated was
found in the Magdalena valley, Colombia, where
W 0
<9
F i g. 67.— a,
Gold bead in the
form of a hu-
man skull, from
Mexico, b, Cast
gold bead from
Colombia.
(7035, 10/2603)
y
Fig. 66. — Gold beads from Florida.
(1/7967, 68, 71, 75, 76)
it is very probable the ancient goldsmiths employed a method similar
to that described by Sahagun.
Beads of Silver
A number of necklaces recently collected consist of beads made of
flattened silver wire bent around an implement resembling a knitting-
needle. The ends are brought very close together, evidently with
pliers or a vise-like tool, and then hammered and rubbed until the
joints were almost obscured. Many of the beads have been shaped
into a flattened spherical form. A few of the larger ones are barrel-
shape, some are hammered four-sided or nearly square, while others
are of a short tubular form. One of the strings has a number of gold
beads inserted at intervals of about six inches ; these are made of a
flattened wire in the same manner as those of silver, with no solder or
fusing at the joints. There are seven strings of these beads, each
about nine feet long, containing sixteen beads to the inch, with an
58 BEADS AND BEADWORK
average of three-thirtyseconds of an inch in diameter. A few glass
beads are interspersed. These are the product of the Araucanian
Indians of Chile.
During the last half-century Navaho silversmiths have produced,
among other ornaments, a distinctive form of necklace composed of
spherical beads and pendants. PI. vi illustrates one of these typical
necklaces. Distributed through about half of the length of the neck-
lace are a number of flower-shape pendants with two beads between
the pendants, and two crescentic ornaments, one within the other,
are placed centrally in pendant form. Such necklaces have found
favor also among the Pueblo Indians. The floral pendants are said
by the Hopi to represent squash-blossoms, which to them are an em-
blem of fertility.16
Mexican pesos formerly furnished the silver, which was melted
and run into molds made of easily worked sandstone. The beads,
however, were not cast, but were made of two cup-shape pieces
soldered together. The coins were annealed and hammered into thin
sheets, discs of the required size were cut from the sheet-silver, and
were shaped with die and matrix. Before they acquired more suit-
able equipment the Navaho and Pueblos employed as a die the
rounded head of a bolt or other suitable piece of iron ; the matrix is
preferably a depression in the end grain of a piece of hard wood, just
the size and shape required for the half of a bead. After being an-
nealed the silver becomes somewhat softened and yields more readily
during the shaping process. A disc is laid over the matrix and driven
into the depression with the die and a hammer, which produces the
cup-shape half of a bead. The edges, unavoidably rough and uneven,
are ground and smoothed on a flat piece of sandstone. Perforations
are made in the cups and afterward they are placed on a stiff wire in
pairs forming globes, with their edges pressed closely together and
secured with wrappings of fine wire. A mixture of borax and saliva
forms the flux with small fragments of silver, which is applied to the
joints for soldering the sections together. A number of beads so ar-
ranged are placed in a fire and the temperature raised to a sufficient
degree with bellows to make the solder run and hold the edges to-
gether. Irregularities are filed off and the beads are polished. The
floral pendant consists of a bead with four petals and a perforated
shank. The petals are cast, and with the shank are soldered to the
16 On the age of silverworking among the Navaho and Pueblos, see Hodge.
F. W., in El Palacio, vol. xxv, nos. 14-17, Santa Fe, N. Mex., Oct. 6-27, 1928.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
NECKLACE OF SILVER MADE BY THE NAVAHO. (6/2129;
METAL BEADS
59
bead. The beads in the necklace illustrated are seven-sixteenths of
an inch in diameter; the length of the string is twenty-six inches.
The crescentic appendage is cast and bears a stamped design. The
stamps are made of any suitably shaped piece of steel or iron with a
pattern cut in one end. Many such implements of different designs
may be found in a silversmith's kit. With a hammer the various pat-
terns are stamped into the silver. The artist is not alone dependent
on the stamps, for some of the ornamentation is produced with a
graving tool often made of a piece of a three-cornered file with its end
ground to a fine cutting point. This they use just as a civilized en-
graver would do. All this excellent work is accomplished by the
Navaho without the aid of a measure or an instrument of precision.
Dr. Washington Matthews 17 has presented a detailed
description of the methods employed by Navaho silver-
smiths in the manufacture of a wide variety of silver
ornaments.
Beads of Copper
I
■'!
Copper was used to some extent by Indians in the
manufacture of utilitarian objects and ornaments, in-
cluding beads. A great quantity of the metal was avail-
able in the Lake Superior region, although native cop-
per is found also in Virginia, North Carolina, Ten-
nessee, Arizona, New Mexico, Nova Scotia, and other
localities. Beads of copper have been found in nearly
all these areas, and in other parts where either the raw
material or the finished articles must have been imported
from various sources. A number of copper beads
from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have been
recorded, and Prof. F. W. Putnam found one on
Prince Edward Island.18 These in all probability were
made from the copper found in the respective regions.
Specimens from Tennessee include a cylindrical
bead (fig. 68) which tapers from the center toward each
end. Its size is three and three-eighths inches long and
about five-eighths of an inch in maximum diameter. It was made
from a copper nugget, hammered thin, then rolled and hammered
Fig. 68.—
Bead of lam-
inated copper
from Caney
Fork, De-
Kalb county,
T e n n. f .
(4/7983)
17 Second Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn., 1881-82, Washington, 1883.
18 Putnam, F. W., Shell Heap on Prince Edward Island, Amer. Antiquarian,
Jan.-Feb., 1896.
6o
BEADS AND BEADWORK
into shape. Though badly corroded, the laminations are distinct and
indicate definitely the mode of manufacture. Other beads from
Tennessee, of tubular form but having- parallel sides, are made from
sheet-copper rolled into tubes of a single thickness of metal, with the
edges slightly overlapping. These were probably made from copper
obtained from early colonists in the form of kettles. These beads
vary in size from a quarter of an inch to nearly two inches long
and about a quarter of an inch in diameter.
A burial at Hewlett, Long Island, yielded two hundred or more
beads of varying shapes and sizes. A number of the
tubular form were included (pi. vn), but corrosion was
so far advanced that it is difficult to determine how
these were made. Some of them at least have the ap-
pearance of being other than rolled sheet-metal, and
are probably of European production. A number of
flattened spherical beads were also with the burial (pi.
vn a) ; their general appearance is such as to suggest
that they were European trade articles.
The smallest copper beads brought to our notice are
some on the original string, which has been preserved
by the action of the copper salts on the fiber. An en-
larged drawing (fig. 69) shows how they are made of small strips
of the metal bent in tubular form with the edges
brought together on an even plane. They were found
with a burial near Lewiston, Niagara county, New
York, and are three sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter.
With them were found, also on the original string,
some beads which are about twice as large, the two
sizes being on separate strings. From a nearby lo-
cality a number of tubular objects, presumably beads,
some of copper, others of brass, were gathered. These
range in size from three-quarters of an inch to four
and a half inches in length, and three-sixteenths to
half an inch in diameter. These tubular objects are not
so well made; the edges are irregular and overlap.
The sheet-metal of which the larger ones are made, it
is safe to say, was supplied by white people, and the
even thickness of the edges of the smaller ones sug-
gests the same origin for their material.
A necklace and a breast-ornament of copper from one
Fig. 69.—
Copper bead
from Niag-
ara county,
New York.
Enlarged
from %4 in.
(8/221)
Fig. 70.—
Bead made
of flattened
brass wire
spirally
twisted. Ac-
tual size.
(13/7862)
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
1
1 ' I
1
I
■••;
TUBULAR COPPER BEADS FROM HEWLETT, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. (8/3738)
WAMPUM 6l
of the Salish tribes of British Columbia are composed of a number
of long brass beads (fig. 70) made of wire which has been ham-
mered flat and twisted spirally. The drawing shows their aver-
age size. Some of them have parallel sides instead of the tapering
ends shown in the drawing. Glass beads and seeds are interspersed.
WAMPUM
Under the classification of shell beads, perhaps those commonly
known as wampum may be considered the most important. During
the early days of white settlement in the northern continent wampum
was a recognized medium of exchange, or, when arranged on strings
in a particular order as to color, served in the conveyance of inter-
tribal messages, or, when woven into a form known as belts, played
an important part in the ratification of treaties. In personal adorn-
ment the belts were very effective. Woven into the form of collars,
or on strings as necklaces, ear-pendants, or wristlets, they were more
commonly used.
The wampum to be discussed in this section is to be understood as
having the form of small cylindrical shell beads, averaging about a
quarter of an inch in length by an eighth of an inch in diameter — not
the discoidal beads found at prehistoric sites, although these may have
functioned in a somewhat similar way. The discoidal type of beads
still survives, and in some localities they are called wampum and are
used to some extent as money. But the wampum in mind is the
cylindrical kind which was made in two colors, white and purple.
The quahog, or hard-clam ( Venus mercenaria) , furnished extensively
the material for the manufacture of both colors of wampum, although
other shells of a suitable nature, such as the columellas of the conch,
were used for the white beads. Some exception, it might be added,
has been taken to the use of the quahog-shell as not being thick enough
for making the dark beads. The reason, perhaps, is because the
necessary large clams are infrequently found among our present food
supply. The large clam is too old and tough for food, the smaller,
younger clams being the only ones found marketable; consequently
we see little or nothing of the larger clams and therefore find it diffi-
cult to imagine a shell thick enough for wampum-making. Beau-
champ,19 however, illustrates a fragment in which the purple part of
the shell is three-eighths of an inch thick.
19 Beauchamp, W. M., Wampum and Shell Articles, Bull. 41, N. Y. State
Mus., Albany, 1901.
62 BEADS AND BEADWORK
Wampum is mentioned in the records of many early travelers in
North America, but their references bear chiefly on its origin, and
only vaguely on the mode of manufacture, the materials used, its uses
and value.
According to Loskiel —
Wampom is an Iroquois word meaning a muscle. A number of these
muscles strung together is called a string of wampom. . . . Before the
Europeans came to North America, the Indians used to make their strings
of wampom chiefly of small pieces of wood of equal size, stained either
black or white. Few were made of muscles which were esteemed very
valuable and difficult to make; for, not having proper tools, they spent
much time in finishing them, and yet their work had a clumsy appearance.
But the Europeans soon contrived to make strings of wampom, both neat
and elegant, and in great abundance. The Indians immediately gave up
the use of the old wooden substitutes for wampom, and procured those
made of muscles, which, though fallen in price, were always accounted
valuable.20
Closely following that of Loskiel, Isaac Weld's reference to
wampum is of interest:
The wampum is formed of the inside of the clam shell, a large sea shell
bearing some similitude to that of a scallop, which is found on the coasts
of New England and Virginia. The shell is sent in its original rough
state to England, and there cut into small pieces, exactly similar in shape
and size to the modern glass bugles worn by ladies, which little bits of
shell constitute wampum. There are two sorts of wampum, the white and
the purple ; the latter is most esteemed by the Indians, who think a pound
weight of it equally valuable with a pound of silver. . . .
The use of wampum appears to be very general amongst the Indian na-
tions, but how it became so, is a question that would require discussion,
for it is well known that they are a people obstinately attached to old cus-
toms, and that they would not therefore be apt to adopt, on the most grand
and solemn occasion, the use of an article they had never seen until brought
to them by strangers ; at the same time it seems wholly impossible that they
should ever have been able to have made wampum from the clam shell for
themselves ; they fashion the bowls of tobacco pipes, indeed, from stone,
in a very curious manner, and with astonishing accuracy, considering that
they use no other instrument than a common knife, but then the stone
which they commonly carve thus is of a very soft kind; the clam shell,
however, is exceedingly hard, and to bore and cut it into such small pieces
as are necessary to form wampum, very fine tools would be wanting.
20 Loskiel, G. H., History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the
Indians of North America, pt. 1, p. 26, London, 1794.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
o o o o o
O m o • G
§9o
n|g Lte
' d i I
i '*L j*1
FLATTENED SPHERICAL BEADS OF COPPER FROM HEWLETT, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. ACTUAL
SIZE. (8/3746)
WAMPUM 63
Probably they made some use of the clam shell, and endeavoured to reduce
it to as small bits as they could with their rude instruments before we came
amongst them, but on finding that we could cut it so much more neatly
than they could, laid aside the wampum before in use for that of our
manufacture.21
Lawson,22 writing of the manufacture of wampum in the South,
states :
If this Wampum Peak be black or purple, as some Part of that Shell is,
then it is twice the Value. This the Indians grind on Stones and other
things till they make it current, but the Drilling is the most difficult to the
Englishmen, which the Indians manage with a Nail stuck in a Cane or
Reed. Thus they roll it continually on their Thighs with their Right-hand,
holding the Bit of Shell with their left, so in time they drill a Hole quite
through it, which is a very tedious Work.
In an early record of wampum in New England, by Roger Wil-
liams;23 giving its value as a medium of exchange, he writes :
The Indians are ignorant of Europes Coyne; yet they have given a name
to ours, and call it Moneash from the English money.
Their owne is of two sorts ; one white, which they make of the stem or
stocke of the Periwincle, which they call Meteauhock, when all the shell is
broken off: and of this sort six of their small Beads (which they make
with holes to string the bracelets) are currant with the English for a
Peny.
The second is black, inclining to blew, which is made of the shell of a
fish, which some English call Hens, Poquauhock, and of this sort three
make an English peny.
They that live upon the Sea side generally make of it, and as many
make as will.
There seems to have been considerable fluctuation in values during
the period of Roger Williams' observation, for he states :
One fathom of this their stringed money, now worth of the English but
five shillings (sometimes more) some few yeeres s^nce was worth nine,
and sometimes ten shillings per Fathome. . . .
They hang these strings of money about their necks and wrists; as also
upon the necks and wrists of their wives and children.24
21 Weld, Isaac, Travels through the States of North America and the Prov-
inces of Upper and Lower Canada during the Years 1795, 1796, 1797, pp. 390-
391, London, 1799.
22 Lawson, John, History of Carolina, p. 194, London, 1714.
23 Williams, R., A Key into the Language of America (1643), p. 128, Provi-
dence, 1827.
24 Ibid., pp. 129, 131.
64 BEADS AND BEADWORK
Referring to the Indians of Virginia, Beverley 25 wrote :
The Indians had nothing which they reckoned Riches, before the Eng-
lish went among them, except Peak, Roenoke, and such like trifles made
out of the Cunk-sheW. These past with them instead of Gold and Silver,
and serv'd them both for Money, and Ornament. . . .
Peak is of two sorts, or rather of two colours, for both are made of one
Shell, tho of different parts ; one is a dark Purple Cylinder, and the other
a white ; they are both made in size, and figure alike, and commonly much
resembling the English Buglas, but not so transparent nor so brittle. They
are wrought as smooth as Glass, being one third of an inch long, and
about a quarter, diameter, strung by a hole drill'd thro the Center. The
dark colour is the dearest, and distinguish'd by the name of Wampom
Peak. The English-men that are call'd Indian Traders, value the
Wampom Peak, at eighteen pence per Yard, and the white Peak at nine
pence. The Indians also make Pipes of this, two or three inches long,
and thicker than ordinary, which are much more valuable. They also
make Runtees of the same Shell, and grind them as smooth as Peak.
These are either large like an Oval Bead, and drill'd the length of the
Oval, or else they are circular and flat, almost an inch over, and one third
of an inch thick, and drill'd edgeways. Of this Shell they also make
round Tablets of about four inches diameter, which they polish as smooth
as the other, and sometimes they etch or grave thereon, Circles, Stars, a
Half Moon, or any other figure suitable to their fancy. These they wear
instead of Medals before or behind their Neck, and use the Peak, Runtees
and Pipes for Coronets, Bracelets, Belts or long Strings hanging down
before the Breast, or else they lace their Garments with them, and adorn
their Tomahawks, and every other thing that they value.
They have also another sort which is as current among them, but of far
less value ; and this is made of the Cockle shell, broke into small bits with
rough edges, drilled through in the same manner as Beads, and this they
call Roenoke, and use it as the Peak.
These quotations, excepting those from Weld and Beverley, pro-
vide no very definite description as to the shape of the wampum,
whether it was discoidal or tubular. However, the fact is well estab-
lished that few tubular beads have been found on prehistoric sites.
In later burials, on the other hand, great numbers have been found,
but always associated more or less with objects of European origin.
It is therefore safe to assume that the particular style of wampum
under discussion was mostly made after the introduction of iron by
25 Beverley, Robert, History and Present State of Virginia, bk. in, chap. 12,
pp. 58, 59, London, 1705.
.
£3;
O co
P Q
n
a -i
< d
I- QC
h- Q
<
O LU
X
o»- 5
< 5
o ?
WAMPUM 65
Europeans, for this metal must have been used for making the per-
forations. There are a few exceptions, perhaps, where small cylin-
drical shell beads have been perforated with other than iron or
steel drills, but the drillings are invariably large in proportion to the
size of the bead, and as a rule taper toward the center. In the case
of discoidal beads the drilling is a simple matter : the perforations
are made in the center of a disc, and according to the thickness of the
shell may be made from either one or both sides, while a small angu-
lar stone point is easily maintained in the shaft of a drill. Beads of
this class have been found in quantities on prehistoric sites, so that it
is reasonable to suppose that this wampum, or its equivalent under
various names, was the kind the earliest explorers found in use
among the Indians, rather than what is commonly known today as
wampum.
The drilling of cylindrical beads, the typical wampum, examples of
which are shown in the illustrations, could hardly have been done with
a stone point, because the perforations are long and narrow, and a
point of stone of sufficient length would be difficult to make, and if
made, the least deviation from the line of drilling would break the
drill, if not the bead. Copper implements of a suitable character have
not been found in numbers sufficient to suggest their use for this pur-
pose. The use of reeds or of like material in conjunction with sand
and water would seem most improbable when we consider the pro-
digious quantities of wampum that exist and the time required to
drill a bead by such means.
For the purpose of examining the shape and general appearance of
tubular drillings a series of excellent X-ray photographs have been
prepared by Dr. Elsie Fox, of New York City, an expert in that line,
who kindly volunteered her services toward solving this interesting
problem.
PI. viii, a, illustrates a fragment of a wampum belt, and b is an X-
ray photograph of the same specimen, showing the drillings of the
beads. It may be seen that many of the perforations have been made
from each end of the bead, showing clearly where the drill has not
been held true and the meeting points have not come exactly together.
Others have evidently been drilled from one end.
PI. ix, a, is a photograph of a portion of another belt, with an ac-
companying X-ray print (b) showing a marked improvement in the
drillings, which evidently were made from one end and are parallel
with the sides of the beads. The general appearance of this work
66 BEADS AND BEADWORK
suggests that both the beads and the drill were held in such manner
that there should be no deviation in the course of the drill. Appli-
ances of this kind, however crude, may be classed under the head of
machinery. The device for holding the bead, if only a cleft stick, is
a form of vise or clamp, while braces to keep the drill-shaft running
true are nothing more nor less than a lathe head in embryo. Taking
for granted that such devices were used, we have truly machine-made
beads.
Fig. 71 is an X-ray photograph of an unusually fine string of beads,
in regard to both the diameter of the beads and the drilling. The
perforations are true and of uniform size, as though one drill had
Fig. 71. — X-ray photograph of an Iroquois wampum necklace from Brantford,
Ontario. (1/2673) Photograph by Dr. Elsie Fox.
been used to complete the work. There is no reason why the In-
dians, with their well-known ingenuity, should not have contrived
some mechanical means for drilling the cylindrical wampum so per-
fectly, after they had been supplied with iron or steel, without sug-
gestions from Europeans, who at an early date commenced the manu-
facture of wampum when it became an accepted medium of exchange.
An interesting account of the commercial manufacture of wampum is
given by Barber and Howe,126 as follows :
Wampum, or Indian money, is to the present day made in this [Bergen]
county, and sold to the Indian traders of the far west. It has been manu-
factured, by the females in this region, from very early times for the In-
dians ; and as every thing connected with this interesting race is destined,
26 Barber and Howe, Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey, p.
72, New York, 1840.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
IMHIUIMH ! nillHii ! ! ! in:i \ llfft
llllNllMMIIINPliiMM! > Hill
IIMIIWIHIHIIP WWM 11111I1M111111M
lllllllllllllll|IIIIRIlllMIIIHIiHilNli««ni!1Hlll»llRitfi
IS5S5S
a, PART OF A WAMPUM BELT OF THE SENECA OF GRAND RIVER RESERVATION, ONTARIO. 6,
X-RAY PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SAME, SHOWING THE DRILLING OF THE BEADS. (10/4263)
(X-ray Photograph by Dr. Elsie Fox)
WAMPUM 67
at no distant period, to exist only in history, we annex a description of the
manufacture.
The wampum is made from the thick and blue part of sea-clamshells.
The process is simple, but requires a skill only attained by long practice.
The intense hardness and brittleness of the material render it impossible to
produce the article by machinery alone. It is done by wearing or grinding
the shell. The first process is to split off the thin part with a light sharp
hammer. Then it is clamped in the sawed crevice of a slender stick, held
in both hands, and ground smooth on a grindstone, until formed into an
eight-sided figure, of about an inch in length and nearly half an inch in
diameter ; when it is ready for boring. The shell then is inserted into an-
other piece of wood, sawed similarly to the above, but fastened firmly to a
bench of the size of a common stand. One part of the wood projects over
the bench, at the end of which hangs a weight, causing the sawed orifice
to close firmly upon the shell inserted on its under side, and to hold it
firmly, as in a vice, ready for drilling. The drill is made from an un-
tempered handsaw. The operator grinds the drill to a proper shape, and
tempers it in the flame of a candle. A rude ring, with a groove on its
circumference, is put on it; around which the operator, (seated in front of
the fastened shell,) curls the string of a common hand-bow. The boring
commences, by nicely adjusting the point of the drill to the centre of the
shell ; while the other end is braced against a steel plate, on the breast of
the operator. About every other sweep of the bow, the drill is dexterously
drawn out, cleaned of the shelly particles by the thumb and finger, above
which drops of water from a vessel fall down and cool the drill ; which is
still kept revolving, by the use of the bow with the other hand, the same
as though it were in the shell. This operation of boring is the most diffi-
cult of all, the peculiar motion of the drill rendering it hard for the breast;
yet it is performed with a rapidity and grace interesting to witness. Pe-
culiar care is observed, lest the shell burst from heat caused by friction.
When bored half way, the wampum is reversed, and the same operation
repeated. The next process is the finishing. A wire, about twelve inches
long, is fastened at one end to a bench. Under and parallel to the wire
is a grindstone, fluted on its circumference, hung a little out of the centre,
so as to be turned by a treadle moved with the foot. The left hand grasps
the end of the wire, on which are strung the wampum, and, as it were,
wraps the beads around the fluted or hollow circumference of the grind-
stone. While the grindstone is revolving, the beads are held down on to
it, and turned round by a flat piece of wood held in the right hand, and by
the grinding soon become round and smooth. They are then strung on
hempen strings, about a foot in length. From five to ten strings are a
day's work for a female. They are sold to the country merchants for
twelve and a half cents a string, always command cash, and constitute the
support of many poor and worthy families.
68
BEADS AND BEADWORK
John W. Campbell was born July 31, 1746, and early in life settled
at Pascack where he established a wampum factory and for years con-
ducted an extensive business, supplying the United States Indian
agents and traders of the day with " Indian money." His descend-
ants, until quite recently, continued its manufacture.
Seven strings of the Campbell wampum are illustrated in pi. x.
The strings are as described in the foregoing citation, being about 12
inches long, while the beads are of lengths varying from about half
an inch to seven-eighths of an inch, and of a uniform diameter of
three-sixteenths of an inch. Only a small number of the beads, how-
ever, are less than seven-eighths of an inch in length. These are
much larger in every respect than those made commercially before
the Campbell factory commenced operations. No beads of such size
appear in any of the known wampum belts. It is not to be supposed
that the Campbells were pioneers in the industry, for, as Beauchamp
writes,27 " the Dutch had learned to make wampum by improved
methods, having used it from the first, and the Iroquois bought large
quantities."
There is no doubt that the Indians made quantities of wampum, as
their demand for muxes (awls) and needles is noted in early records.
Many of these articles were given as
part payment by the Colonists for
Indian lands. To quote Roger Wil-
liams, " Before ever they had awle
blades from Europe, they made shift
to bore this their, shell money with
stones." 28
In the Indian deed for Huntington,
Long Island, dated 1650, are mentioned
" 30 muxes and 30 needles." Among
the articles given for East Hampton,
Long Island, in 1648, were one hun-
dred muxes. The deed for Mastic
Neck, Brookhaven, Long Island, in
1657, specifies, among other things,
" forty needles and forty muxes." In
the records of many other transactions muxes are mentioned, attesting
to the fact that those implements were in great demand by the Indians.
Fig. 72. — W arapura made
without steel tools : found at
Lewiston, New York. Actual
size. (8/8550)
27 Beauchamp, W. M., History of the New York Iroquois, Bull. 78, N. Y.
State Mus., Albany, 1905.
28 Williams, Roger, op. cit, p. 130.
ORCHARD BEADS AND BEADWORK
REGULATION BUNCH OF WAMPUM PREPARED FOR TRADE BY WHITE MANUFACTURERS
IN NEW JERSEY. (2/9813)
WAMPUM 69
With reference to the age of this particular form of wampum,
there seems to be conclusive evidence that it was not made until after
the arrival of Europeans. No doubt many of the kind shown in fig.
72 were in use by the natives before they came in contact with white
men, but all that have been recovered are larger and coarser than
those which were made with the aid of steel drills. Much of the
coarser kind has been found on prehistoric sites, but never any of
the smaller variety. An expression of opinion on this point was
asked of three prominent archeologists who have made many field in-
vestigations in the East. Their statements are herein quoted. Mr.
Arthur C. Parker, Director of the Rochester Municipal Museum,
states :
During the past twenty-two years I have examined numerous Indian
village and burial sites of the several cultures in New York and northern
Pennsylvania. I have given pre-colonial, otherwise pre-contact, sites con-
siderable care in this area, recording the range of artifacts found upon
each site examined.
I have found shell beads, shaped as spheroids, ovals, and disks in
village-sites and graves in certain pre-contact Algonkian sites, and I have
found the same type of beads in pre-contact Iroquoian sites and also long
heavy cylindrical beads made from the columella of the Pyrula (Busycon),
but I have never found the small cylindrical beads such as are found in
wampum belts and strings in any of these early sites. Where small cy-
lindrical beads have been found they are at least three times the diameter
of the historic wampum bead and made of a different variety of shell.
Historic wampum, such as is known as ' belt wampum,' appears abun-
dantly in sites of about 1650. Sites of twenty to fifty years earlier have
it only rarely or sparingly, but by the middle of the 17th century it ap-
pears in great quantities, many graves yielding from a pint to four quarts
of it. It continued in abundance among the historic Iroquois until about
1800. Its use by them after this period was confined mostly to strings
and belts used in council and ceremony. Occasionally a belt or string was
buried with the dead, but glass beads gradually drove out wampum as a
clothing decoration and its growing scarcity prevented its use as a burial
tribute.
Mr. M. R. Harrington, formerly of the Museum of the American
Indian, Heye Foundation, now Director of Research in the South-
west Museum, Los Angeles, has done extensive archeological work
in the region of New York. He writes :
As to wampum, I think that cylindrical shell beads, mostly white and
made from Fulgur cones, and slightly larger than standard wampum, were
70 BEADS AND BEADWORK
made in fair quantity before the coming of the whites ; but that the great
development of what we call wampum began in early Colonial days, after
the Indians secured steel drills. On Long Island, at Dosoris, near Glen
Cove, to be exact, I found Fulgur cones (columellas) that had been ground
into slender cylinders and marked into lengths suitable for wampum, but
no finished beads. On Tennessee river I found shell beads like coarse
white wampum, some of them on sites where no white man's products ap-
peared, and others, very similar, on sites where a few trade articles were
seen. The Long Island site mentioned above showed nothing of European
origin.
Quoting the late Alanson Skinner, also of the Museum of the
American Indian :
I have never seen a single wampum bead from any prehistoric Iroquois
site that I have visited in New York, Canada, or Pennsylvania. On the
contrary, they are exceedingly abundant in the graves, and even on the
surface, of the historic towns. On prehistoric Onondaga sites in Jefferson
county, we found disc beads of dark steatite quite commonly, and more
rarely, similar beads of shell, and I think, bone.
In addition to these statements we quote from Beauchamp,29 as
follows :
I have mentioned the lack of wampum among the early New York Iro-
quois, as proof that they had not reached the sea, but it was not abundant
even on the coast in prehistoric times. On early Iroquois sites it is not
found, nor anything resembling it.
These statements are presented to correct an impression which has
prevailed, more or less, that the regulation belt wampum was made
and used by the Indians in prehistoric times.
The uses of wampum have been described by Dr. Frank G. Speck
in his memoir on The Functions of Wampum Among the Eastern
Algonkian.30
Wampum-making Tools
A series of implements necessary for making wampum has been
brought together for the Museum by Mr. Carl F. Schondorf, of
Paterson, New Jersey, who for a number of years has been deeply
interested in the subject and has succeeded not only in gathering the
29 Beauchamp, W. M., History of the New York Iroquois, Bull. 78, N. Y.
State Mus., Albany, 1905.
30 Mem. Amer. Anthr. Asso., vol. vi, no. 1, 1919.
WAMPUM
71
actual tools but in recording some authentic information on the manu-
facture of wampum from descendants of at least two of the families
who made it for the Campbells, who in turn supplied Western traders
with the beads. The tools were procured from descendants of Jane
Ann Bell and Fowler Bross, both noted in their day for their ability
in beadmaking.
According to these people the quahog, or hard-clam shell (Venus
mercenaria), was used exclusively for the purple wampum. The
shells were secured in quantities by the Campbells, who sold them to
the beadmakers.
The tools, as shown in the illustration (fig. 73), consist of a short-
handled double-bladed adz (a) used in connection with a short chisel-
Fig. 73. — Tools for making " Dutch " wampum.
like implement (b) for cutting the purple edge of the shells into
pieces of required size, which afterward were roughly ground into
octagonal shape on a grindstone. The implement for holding the
fragment of shell (c) during this operation is made from a hickory
stick about fourteen inches long, an inch wide, and three-quarters of
an inch thick, tapering from the center to about a quarter of an inch
thick at each end. A cleft was made across the middle of the stick,
leaving enough of the wood to form a hinge for the two ends. The
elasticity of hickory permitted the cleft to spread apart and to hold
the fragment of shell to be shaped on the grindstone. This made a
very practical instrument for the purpose. Bearing down on both
ends of the stick closed the cleft so that the shell could not slip out
of place (fig. 74). After the shell was shaped, the ends were ground
square, held with the same implement (fig. 75).
Making the perforations was the next stage of manufacture. The
72
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Fig. 74. — Wampum making : Roughly shaping a
piece of shell before drilling.
drills (fig. 73, d) were made from saw-files. One end was carefully
drawn out to a point an inch or an inch and a half long, and provided
with a flat chisel -like
cutting point. The op-
posite end is rounded to
fit into a breast-plate
(e). The drill was re-
volved with a bow (/)
with the string wrapped
around a common thread
spool which was placed
on the shaft of the drill
near the rounded end.
According to the bead-
makers, the preparation
of the drill was an im-
portant matter, as a
poorly made instrument
would split the shell
while drilling or other-
wise retard the production. The drawn-out point must be perfectly
alined with the rest of the file forming the shaft, or spindle,' the cut-
ting edge a trifle broader
than the diameter of that
part forming the drill-
shaft, to allow a clear-
ance for the revolution
of the drill and the accu-
mulating shell particles
during the process. The
temper of the. drill was
finely adjusted in order
that the cutting be sub-
jected to as little inter-
ruption as possible.
During the operation
of perforating, water
was constantly applied
with the fingers to keep
the drill-point from get-
Fig. 75. — Wampum making : Squaring the ends
of the shell by grinding.
WAMPUM
73
ting hot and spoiling the temper. The points were frequently sharp-
ened on a whetstone (fig. 73, g), and occasionally tempered. A
candle was used to supply the heat, the flame being blown to the
drill-point with a blowpipe (h) made from the stem of a clay pipe.
Fig. 76. — Wampum making : Perforating a roughly shaped bead.
While red-hot the point was quickly dipped into tallow, which gave it
the requisite temper or hardness. During the drilling the piece of
shell was held on a clamp (i) similar in form to that used to hold the
shell while being roughly ground into shape, except that the cleft was
cut nearer one end, rather than in the middle. The short end was
screwed to the edge of a table or work-bench with the long end pro-
jecting beyond the end of the table. A weight was attached to the
end of the clamp with a string to close the cleft and thus hold the
shell firmly (fig. 76). Generally the drilling was made from one
direction, but an inexpert beadmaker might find it necessary to com-
plete the perforation from the opposite end. After drilling a number
of the beads, they were strung on a stiff wire, one end fastened to the
work-bench or some other convenient place,; while the other was held
SO' that the beads might be rounded and finished on a grindstone.
The finished beads were assembled on strings about eleven inches
74 BEADS AND BEADWORK
long, containing about fifteen or twenty beads to a string, and were
sold to the factory for about fifteen cents a string. White wampum,
which was usually made from the columella of a conch, sold for about
half that price. The methods employed for assembling the beads for
their various uses are described on pages 66-68.
ODD FORMS AND MATERIALS
Seed Beads. — Besides animal and mineral substances used in the
manufacture of beads, many kinds of seeds, especially those highly-
colored varieties found in the tropics, were, and still are, perforated
and strung for necklaces or attached to various objects for orna-
mental purposes. Some of the Californian tribes used great quan-
tities of juniper-seeds for necklaces and for fringes of their cere-
monial dresses ; in addition they have ground the ends of pine-nuts so
that there would be a lengthwise perforation. These have been used
either alone or interspersed with the juniper-seeds. Similar seeds
were used for necklaces by the Zuni of New Mexico from ancient
times until a couple of generations ago.
From caves in the Ozark mountains a Museum expedition con-
ducted by Mr. M. R. Harrington recovered some Chickasaw plum-
stones (Primus chicasa) with their ends ground off evidently for the
purpose of stringing. Also found were some very small white seeds,
identified as those of false gromwell (Onosmodium subsetosum),
which had been strung and were still on the original strings. A
casual glance might give the impression that they were opaque white
glass beads known to the trade in size as number 2/0. The end of
these seeds have been ground off, rather than drilled, for the passage
of a string.
A necklace made of lupine-seeds was found in a cave in Kane
county, Utah, with another string of unidentified seeds ; and a similar
string was found in Grand gulch, in the same state. The presence of
this material in the caves is ample evidence that the prehistoric peo-
ples, among other things, used seeds for beads.
A necklace composed of silverberries (Elceganus sp.) was collected
from one of the Apache tribes in New Mexico. And from the
Chiricahua Apache in Oklahoma, a necklace of short perforated sec-
tions of a root considered by the Indians to be a potent medicine was
obtained. Such specimens are by no means uncommon and many
were regarded by the original owners as having efficacious medicinal
properties.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
FEATHERED BREAST-ORNAMENT DECORATED WITH SEEDS STRUNG AS BEADS AND
SECTIONS OF BIRD-BONES. JIVARO INDIANS OF ECUADOR AND PERU. (13/7094)
ODD FORMS AND MATERIALS 75
The use of seeds as beads is well shown in pi. xi. The specimen
here illustrated is one of a number collected from the Jivaro, one of
the largest and most warlike tribes of South America whose territory
includes many miles of unexplored country in the region of the rivers
Upano- Santiago, Morona, and Pastaza in Ecuador and Peru. The
object is a breast-ornament, worn by a man with other highly deco-
rated objects on ceremonial occasions. It is made of palm-bark
beaten into a soft cloth-like material of tan color. The ornamenta-
tion represents a face. The eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and eyebrows
are of brilliant colored feathers, outlined with beads made of various
seeds and sections of bird-bones. The uncovered parts of the bark
cloth are colored with red paint to represent facial paintings, a cus-
tomary practice among many tribes. The lower parts of the eyes,
nose, and mouth, and the outer edge of the ornament, are fringed with
threaded seeds. The ends of the fringe attached to the outer edge
are further ornamented with half of a nut-shell and a colored feather.
Between the eyes, at the apex of the nose, is the entire skin of a small
bird, similar in appearance to the redwing blackbird of North Amer-
ica. Several Jivaro ornaments of this character in the Museum col-
lections are made on a poorly tanned skin instead of on bark cloth;
but taken together they may be said to be the most striking, so far as
color is concerned, of any of the Museum's specimens.
Basketry Beads. — From the Wapisiana Indians of British Guiana
was obtained a unique string of beads, each bead, globular in form,
being made of basketry (fig. 77, a) consisting of narrow strips of
palm-leaf cleverly woven with a circular opening at each extremity
and the ends of the weaving strips concealed. The beads are strung
on a native spun cotton cord with alternating short sections of bird-
bone. The basketry beads are from a half to three-quarters of an
inch in diameter.
Wooden Beads. — A necklace made by the Macoa of Venezuela con-
sists of rectangular wooden beads varying from three-eighths to
seven-eighths of an inch in length and about three-sixteenths of an
inch in the square (fig. 77, b) . Some are decorated with incised
lines, others with notched corners.
Gum Beads. — About fifty beads made from a hard transparent
gum, dark amber in color, were found in Clatsop county, Oregon.
They are roughly made, rectangular in form, average about five-
eighths of an inch wide by half an inch long and about three-six-
teenths of an inch thick. The edges are irregularly faceted. Beads
7
76
BEADS AND BEADWORK
made of gum are not common, probably for the reason that such ma-
terial is not durable.
Another necklace of
gum or wax beads on
the original string was
obtained from natives in
Santander, Colombia.
The material has not
been fully identified, but
it is quite hard and
tough, and in color is
black and tan. While
the material was soft,
the two colors were
twisted together in
rather coarse bands, pro-
ducing zebra-like stripes.
The beads, or pendants,
as their shape would de-
note, are of an elongate
pear shape from five-
eighths to three-quarters
of an inch long and
about a quarter of an
inch in maximum diam-
eter, tapering to a point
with a lateral perforation
at the smaller end.
Earthzvare Beads. —
Two rather remarkable
pottery beads of tubular
form were brought to
the Museum from Lara,
Venezuela (fig. 78).
One is three-quarters of
an inch long, the other
half an inch, both three-
Fig. 77. -a, Necklace of basketry beads and sixteenths of an inch in
sections of bird-bone ; British Guiana, b, Neck- diameter. The clay of
lace of incised wooden beads; Venezuela. < . , - , •
(7/4936, 9/256) which they were made is
ODD FORMS AND MATERIALS
77
m
9
Fig. 78.—
Tubular bead
of pottery
from Vene-
zuela. Ac-
tual size.
(4/8755)
of very fine texture, and has been given a burnished surface. The
ends are rounded, and embellished with an indented line ; the sides
are ornamented with four rows of lengthwise punctate lines. These
beads apparently were made on a round stem of some
vegetal material, which was destroyed in the firing.
The operation of firing produced a pleasing red-ochre
color. Several other pottery beads of tubular form,
also from Venezuela, are in the Museum collections.
These, however, are without decoration ; they measure
an inch and a half to an inch and three-quarters
long, about five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, and
are gray in color,.
Another odd form may be mentioned here. About
one hundred and thirty imperforate objects which have
been called beads were found at El Cayo and Wild
Cane cay in British Honduras. They are made of pottery, are slightly
flattened ovoid in shape, and vary from about half an inch to an inch
and an eighth in length. Four of these specimens are illustrated in
fig. 79. Some of them are grooved around the greater diameter,
while others are notched at the ends.
If these objects were used as beads
they might have been effectively strung
with a double string knotted between
the beads. Their use as weights for
weaving or as net-sinkers is extremely
doubtful, as the material of which they
are made is too light in weight for
such purpose.
When one considers the incalcu-
lable amount of pottery that has been
made by Indians, it is remarkable that
so few earthenware beads have been
found. One reason which may ac-
count for it is that much of the pottery-
making clay was so coarse in texture
that it would not afford a finished sur-
face suitable for objects of a purely ornamental character. Some of
the pottery of the Southwest, as well as of Mexico and Central
America, is indeed of very fine, hard texture, capable of receiving
a burnished surface. It would seem that beads of such material
• m
Fig. 79. — P o 1 1 e r y beads
grooved for stringing. British
Honduras. ((9/6411-6412)
78 BEADS AND BEADWORK
could have been produced with much less effort than must have been
expended on the great numbers made of other materials. A few
globular beads of pottery, rather crudely made, from a quarter to
five-eighths of an inch in diameter, were brought from Yucatan, and
others were found at Hawikuh, New Mexico. These have not re-
ceived any form of decoration, have a rough surface, and are dull
gray in color, consequently they cannot be classed as objects of espe-
cial ornamental value.
Earthenware beads covered with gold have already been mentioned.
Beads of Dried Otter's Liver. — From the Winnebago the Museum
has a string of yellow glass beads interspersed with small pieces of
dried otter's liver which have been roughly shaped to resemble the
beads in size. This was worn in the form of a necklace by a child as
a charm against the ills common to childhood.
Native Manufacture of Glass Beads. — There are reports extant to
the effect that some of the tribes of the upper Missouri made beads
of glass obtained from traders or settlers. No examples of the work
have at present been secured for the Museum's collection, but the ex-
istence of a single specimen is reported among the Arikara, which is
the only piece so far known. However, it is so highly prized that
there is little possibility that they will ever part with it.
According to the description of the process of manufacture, and of
the paucity of examples of the work, it is safe to assume that very
few such beads were made. The heat necessary for fusing glass to
make a satisfactory bead could hardly be obtained in the manner de-
scribed by the informant who furnished the following account given
by Lewis and Clark in 1805 : 31
Mr. Garrow a Frenchman who has lived many years with the Ricares &
Mandans shewed us the process used by those Indians to make beads,
the discovery of this art these nations are said to have derived from the
Snake Indians who have been taken prisoners by the Ricaras. the art is
kept a secret by the Indians among themselves and is yet known to but
few of them, the Process is as follows. — Take glass of as many different
colours as you think proper, then pound it as fine as possible, puting each
colour in a seperate vessel, wash the pounded Glass in several waters
throwing off the water at each washing, continue this opperation as long
as the pounded glass stains or colours the water which is poured off and
the residuum is then prepared for uce. you then provide an earthen pot
of convenient size say of three gallons which will stand the fire; a platter
31 Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, vol. i, pp. 272-274,
New York, 1904.
ODD FORMS AND MATERIALS 79
also of the same material sufficiently small to be admitted in the mouth of
the pot or jar. the pot has a nitch in it's edge through which to watch the
beads when in blast. You then provide some well seasoned clay with a
proportion of sand sufficient to prevent it's becoming very hard when ex-
posed to the heat, this clay must be tempered with water until it is about
the consistency of common doe. of this clay you then prepare, a suffi-
cient number of little sticks of the size you wish the hole through the
bead, which you do by roling the clay on the palm of the hand with your
finger, this done put those sticks of clay on the platter and expose them
to red heat for a few minutes when you take them off and suffer them to
cool, the pot is also heated to cles [cleanse] it perfectly of any filth it
may contain, small balls of clay are also mad[e] of about an ounce
weight which serve as a pedestal for a bead, these while soft ar destrib-
uted over the face of the platter at su[c]h distance from each other as to
prevent the beads from touching, some little wooden paddles are now
provided from three to four inches in length sharpened or brought to a
point at the extremity of the handle. With this paddle you place in the
palm of the hand as much of the wet pounded glass as is necessary to
make the bead of the size you wish it. it is then arranged with the paddle
in an oblong from [form], laying one of those little stick of clay cross-
wise over it; the pounded glass by means of the paddle is then roped in
cilindrical form arround the stick of clay and gently roled by motion of
the hand backwards an forwards untill you get it as regular and smooth
as you conveniently can. if you wish to introduce any other colour you
now purforate the surface of the bead with the pointed end of your little
paddle and fill up the cavity with other pounded glass of the colour you
wish forming the whole as regular as you can. a hole is now made in
the center of the little pedestals of clay with the handle of your shovel
sufficiently large to admit the end of the stick of clay arround which the
bead is formed, the beads are then arranged perpendicularly on their
pedestals and little distance above them supported by the little sticks of
clay to which they are attatched in the manner before mentioned, thus
arranged the platter is deposited on burning coals or hot embers and the
pot reversed with the apparture in its edge turned towards covers the
whole, dry wood pretty much doated [doughted] is then plased arron
[around] the pot in sush manner as compleatly to cover it. [It] is then
set on fire and the opperator must shortly after begin to watch his beads
through the apparture of the pot le[s]t they should be distroyed by being
over heated, he suffers the beads to acquire a deepred heat from which
when it passes in a small degree to a pailer or whitish red, or he discovers
that the beads begin to become pointed at their extremities he removes the
fire from about the pot and suffers the whole to cool gradually, the pot
is then removed and the beads taken out. the clay which fills the hollow
of the beads is picked out with an awl or nedle. the bead is then fit for
80 BEADS AND BEADWORK
uce. the Indians are extreemly fond of the large beads formed by this
process, they use them as pendants to their years, or hair and sometimes
wear them about their necks.
According to the statement of Lewis and Clark the informant
" shewed us the process," but there is no evidence that they obtained
and preserved a specimen, which is to be regretted. There are a few
weak points in the description of the method. For example, the
pounded colored glass would hardly be expected to stain or color the
water in which it was washed, and in the absence of any statement to
the contrary, we assume that the pulverized glass was made into a
paste with water and rolled into form. There is room for doubt
whether the paste would retain its form after the water had been
driven out by the heat. But such discrepancies may have been due
to lack of care in recording the procedure.
Catlin 32 also mentions the manufacture of glass beads by the
Mandan and their exclusive possession of the art. Matthews,33
however, says that the Arikara women also practised the art, and he
thought that these peoples made " glazed earthen ornaments before
the whites came among them."
Another reference to this art is given by Dr. George Bird Grinnell :
Long, long ago, we are told, the Cheyennes manufactured for them-
selves what might be called beads, but perhaps were small charms made of
some vitrified substance — perhaps of pulverized glass — after the white
people were met. Such beads are said to have been made within two or
three generations. Many of them were fashioned in the shape of a lizard;
that is, a four-legged object with a long tail and a small head. The cere-
mony connected with making such objects was secret, and he who wished
to possess one was obliged to go to some person who himself had been
taught the ceremony, and to ask that person to teach him how to make one.
A payment was made for the service. It is believed that in old times,
long before the whites came, these beads were made from the quartz sand
found on ant-hills, and that this was melted in an earthen pot. The secret
of making them now seems to be lost.
In later times they melted the glass, with which to make the beads, in
the ladles used in melting lead for their bullets. These ornaments or
charms were made in various shapes, often in the form of a lizard, as
said, or flat on one side and round on the other. Sometimes they had a
perforation through which a string might be passed; at other times merely
32 Catlin, George, North American Indians, vol. n, p. 261, London, 1844.
33 Matthews, Washington, Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa In-
dians, pp. 22-23, Washington, 1877.
ODD FORMS AND MATERIALS
81
a constriction between two ends about which a string was tied. The mold
was made of clay.
The first European beads possessed by the Cheyennes were white,
coarse, and imperfect in finish, but were highly valued. Few of these are
now in existence.34
Other Aberrant Objects. — Among the odd forms are a number of
gold objects found in the region of Sinu river, Colombia, four of
which are pictured in fig. 80. They are of cast gold, in the form
iwiWiiilllilP™ *"
J7
■OJ^iUmS'i
Fig.
-Bird-form gold objects from Colombia. (5/1971, 3961-62)
of birds, suggestive of the humming-bird. The perforations are
through the head and lengthwise through the body. Some have a
circular pendant of thin gold suspended near the extremity of the
beak, and another has also a similar pendant attached to the tail.
There is no positive reason for calling these objects beads ; the per-
forations may have been made for some other purpose than the pas-
sage of a string.
Three other objects of similar form and size from Colombia are
provided with ferrule-like appurtenances on which the birds stand as
though perched on a branch, except that under ordinary circum-
stances a bird sits crosswise rather than lengthwise on a limb as in
the case of these ornaments. The open end of the ferrules are at the
34 Grinnell, Cheyenne Indians, vol. i, p. 223, New Haven, 192*4.
82 BEADS AND BEADWORK
extremities of the birds' tails, where it would be possible to insert a
small rod or staff. The bodies of the birds are imperforate. Sev-
eral massive gold objects in the Museum collections are made in the
same manner, with ferrules large enough to admit a staff an inch or
more in diameter. These in all probability were used ceremonially.
It is possible that the smaller objects were made for some such pur-
pose, although those we have called beads are provided with perfora-
tions which, from their size, would suggest the passage of a string
rather than the insertion of a rod.
TRADE BEADS
Age and Distribution. — Early explorers in all parts of the world
found beads of glass, porcelain, and metal so acceptable to the abo-
rigines of the lands in which they traveled, that a flourishing industry
was established in Venice for the manufacture of glass beads, in the
early part of the 14th century, and probably before. Among these
aboriginal peoples the Indians of America were no exception, for they
at once recognized the value of beads as a medium through which to
express their estheticism and soon developed an art which has no-
where been surpassed.
The variety of beads most commonly used as gifts and for trade
was known as seed-beads, a flattened globular form ranging in size
from about a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch or more in diameter.
The colors are of almost unlimited range. A preference prevailed,
however, for bright red, blue, yellow, green, and opaque white. In-
termediate shades were acceptable, but were used sparingly in com-
parison with the others. Beads of clear, colorless glass, commonly
known as crystal, and black beads, were also used. The seed-beads
were used chiefly for covering surfaces with fanciful designs, rather
than for stringing as necklaces. Larger varieties of many forms
were introduced for which other uses were found. These consisted
of spherical, ovoid, tubular, and various bizarre shapes and sizes ; in-
deed they are in such great variety that only a representative selection
can here be considered.
Manufacture. — A brief description of the manufacture of glass
beads is given by Dillon 35 as follows :
The manufacture and export of beads have at all times formed the very
backbone of the Venetian glass industry. We cannot trace this trade back
35 Dillon, Edward, Glass, London, 1907.
TRADE BEADS 83
further than the beginning of the 14th century — by means, that is, of defi-
nite documentary evidence — but by that time a fleet of galleys was yearly
dispatched on the one hand to the Black Sea, on the other to Flanders and
the Thames ; beads forming an important element in the cargo.
The starting point in the manufacture of beads is a rod or cane of glass :
according as this cane is hollow or solid, the manufacture is carried on by
radically distinct methods.
In the case of the hollow cane or tube, we start from a " gathering " at
the end of the blowing iron : this gathering is slightly inflated to form a
hollow pear shaped vesicle, and a rod of iron is attached to the further ex-
tremity. This rod is seized by a boy who runs with it at full speed so as
to elongate the glass as much as possible before it has time to cool; the
thin tube, thus formed, may, it is said, be as much as 150 feet in length.
This tube, broken into sections of convenient length, are now sorted as to
size by women and then are cut into shorter lengths forming bugles or
tubular beads.
Spherical and barrel shaped beads are made from a solid rod of glass.
The extremity of the rod is melted in a blow flame and a thread of the
viscid glass is laid over a revolving iron bar. The motion of the bar
draws the glass around it until the bead has assumed the desired dimen-
sions. The size of the perforation conforms to the diameter of the iron
bar. Numerous materials are used for coloring the glass before it is made
into tubes or rods.
Varieties. — One kind of bead which found its way into America
through early traders may be classed among the aristocrats of beads
(pi. xn). It has sometimes been called the "star bead," but is
known among manufacturers as the " chevron bead." Many speci-
mens of this type have been found in graves as well as in possession
of living Indians, but not by any means so abundantly as other kinds,
perhaps because of the greater cost of manufacture, and correspond-
ingly lesser use. The distribution of the star beads is by no means
confined to North America, where they have ranged from Florida to
Canada and from coast to coast, but they found their way into many
widely separated parts of Europe and into northern Africa.36 Evi-
dently they were distributed throughout parts of the Old World at an
early period.
Among a few glass trade beads found during the excavation of the
ruins at Hawikuh, New Mexico, by the Hendricks-Hodge expedition
for the Museum, are two star beads, one of them differing slightly
in form from those usually found in the United States and more
36 Haldeman, S. S., On a Polychrome Bead from Florida, Smithsonian Rep.
for 1877, p. 302, Washington, 1878.
84 BEADS AND BEADWORK
nearly resembling some of the older kinds found in Europe. The
larger one is spherical, a quarter of an inch in diameter, banded
lengthwise with alternating lines of green, blue, and white. Around
the perforations the typical star pattern in white, green, and red waves
is emphasized by abrasion due to wearing on a string with other
beads.37 The smaller specimen, though only an eighth of an inch in
diameter, has all the markings of the typical star bead shown in our
illustration. As we have seen, it was the common custom of the
early Spaniards to take beads and other trinkets as a part of their
expeditionary equipment as gifts to the natives, hence it is not un-
likely that the first beads were introduced among the Pueblo Indians
of New Mexico and Arizona by Coronado in 1540, if not by Fray
Marcos de Niza in 1539. Several other Spanish accounts of the 16th
century mention the gift of beads and other trinkets to Indians.
A specimen of an unusual type of star bead was found at Point
Albino, Ontario. It is globular in form; the outer surface is dark-
blue, while the star pattern is produced by six alternating layers of
white and green glass without the usual red band. According to
Dillon 38 they belong to the hollow-tube class. His description of the
structure of the bead is as follows :
The arrangement and succession of colors in the glass is in every case
practically identical. The canes from which they were formed have been
built up of three main concentric layers, externally a deep cobalt blue, then
an opaque brick red, and in the centre a tube of pale green transparent
glass ; these main layers are divided by thinner ones of opaque white glass,
and the dividing surfaces have been worked into a series of chevrons or
zigzag (these chevrons are in all cases, I think, twelve in number) so as
to present a star-like pattern on a cross section. The only variations on
this general type are as follows : the chevrons are in a few cases dragged
laterally so as to resemble the teeth of a circular saw; the central tube of
transparent glass is sometimes divided by a zigzag layer of opaque white,
and, very rarely the external layer is green instead of blue. In shape and
size, however, these chevron beads show wide divergences ; in length, they
may vary from two and a half inches to as small as a third of an inch, and
the diameter, though generally less, is in a few cases greater than the
length. The extremities in some of the larger and presumably older speci-
mens are facetted, that is to say, ground down to a pyramidal form. They
37 1 am informed by Mr. Hodge that these star beads formed a part of a
necklace composed of almost every variety of beads used by the Zufii inhabitants
of Hawikuh.
38 Dillon, op. cit.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
Hfff
& "*
STAR OR CHEVRON BEADS FROM ONTARIO
TRADE BEADS 85
were made at Murano, near Venice, the local tradition affirms, from time
without memory.
A brief description of one method employed in finishing globular
glass beads is found in the following quotation from Sauzay : 39
The tubes of a diameter proportioned to that of the beads which are re-
quired, are first cut into cylinders of a height equal to their diameter, and
are then placed in a pear-shaped drum of beaten iron containing a mixture
of plaster and plumbago or of charcoal dust mixed with clay. The drum
being placed on a furnace, the workman gives it a continuous rotatory
movement by means of an iron axle which passes through it, so that the
tubes softened by the heat lose the salient parts of their extremities from
the constant friction with each' other, and take a spherical form.
The office of the plaster and charcoal in the work is to prevent the tubes
at the time of the softening of the glass, from adhering together.
A short account of the first glass-bead factory in America is given
by Barber : 40
The first industrial enterprise established in the territory of the United
States was a glass bottle factory, which was erected in the Virginian
colony soon after 1607. The works stood about a mile distant from
Jamestown. A second glass house was erected in 1622 for the manufac-
ture of glass beads for trade with the Indians.
a
Nothing is known of the exact nature
of these products nor of the ultimate suc-
cess of the somewhat ambitious under-
taking.
Three specimens of hand-made beads
of an old type and of very crude work-
manship were found on St. Eustatius
island in the Lesser Antilles, where they
were probably introduced by early Span-
ish voyagers, possibly Columbus himself.
These beads (fig. 81) are pentagonal and I
are made of two shades of blue glass.
Among- the manv odd forms of im- _ M ^, , ,
. , , , . ' , , L 100A , Fig. 81.— Blue-glass beads
ported beads is one found about 1880 at from St Eustatius island,
Canadasaga, an old Seneca village-site West Indies. Actual size.
. (10/5201)
near Geneva, Ontario county, New York.
It is of blue glass, discoidal in shape, with a lateral perforation (fig.
39 Sauzay, A., Wonders of Glass-Making in all Ages, p. 205, New York,
1872.
40 Barber, Edwin Atlee, American Glassware, 1900.
86
BEADS AND BEADWORK
82). Designs in white glass have been fused on both sides. It has
been said that in all probability such beads were made by Venetians
for trade among the Moors and that the designs have reference to
Moorish traditions. Few of these beads evidently found their way
to the American Indians, and aside from the probability that their
form and design pleased the natives' fancy, it is not likely that they
were regarded as of any other value.
A number of glass beads made to imitate dried kernels of yellow
corn (fig. 83) were found with a burial during the excavation of a
Munsee cemetery near Montague, New Jersey, in 1914.41 There are
varieties in shape and size just as one would expect
to find in a handful of corn. No beads exactly like
these have been found elsewhere, but a string of
beads which may have been made to represent ker-
nels of red corn has recently been collected from the
Crow Indians of Montana. These, however, are
not such a good imitation as the corn beads from the
old Munsee cemetery.
The scarcity of such beads as those which imitate
Fig. 82.—
Glass beads,
probably made
for Moorish
trade. On-
tario county,
New York.
Actual size.
(10/4204)
Fig. 83.— Yellow glass
beads made to represent
grains of corn. New
Jersey. Actual size.
(3/7097)
yellow corn may be due to the fact that as each was separately made
they did not prove profitable for trade purposes.
Mr. Louis Rosenberg, well known as a bead importer and manu-
facturer of New York, expresses the opinion that these yellow corn-
beads were made in Venice during an early period of the bead trade
with this country, while the red beads " were made sixty or seventy-
five years ago in Bohemia for export to India, Africa, and America.
At the time they were made there was no natural color coral glass
manufactured, so they were made in crystal and covered with coral
lacquer. In later years they have been made of coral and other
colored glass."
41 Heye, G. G., and Pepper, G. H., Exploration of a Munsee Cemetery near
Montague, New Jersey, Contr. Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., vol. 11, no. 1,
1915.
TRADE BEADS 87
Other beads of this general class were made to represent rasp-
berries, although not so perfectly as those imitating corn. Another
bead takes the form of a gooseberry. Both these examples are made
of clear glass, without an attempt to imitate color. The gooseberry,
however, has some white lines pressed in the glass, perhaps to indi-
cate the ribs in the fruit.
A distinctive type of bead of Venetian origin, known to the trade
as " Cornaline d'Aleppo," is found widely distributed throughout the
North American continent. These were favorably received by the
Indians through the Hudson's Bay Company's trading posts, and in
regions covered by the Company became known as " Hudson's Bay
beads." According to an official of the Company it was one of the
earliest kinds of beads used in the Canadian trade. Independent
traders, no doubt, created a demand for this variety of bead in their
respective regions to the southward. It has also been found in sev-
eral parts of the Old World.42 The Hudson's Bay Company's im-
portations of recent years comprise seed-beads from Venice, metal
and seed-beads from France, and agate beads from Bavaria.
In shape the early glass beads found with burials and at village-
sites are short tubular and oblate spheroidal, and vary in length from
about an eighth to a quarter of an inch. They are made in two dis-
tinct colors of glass, one inside the other. The outer is always opaque
red, closely resembling that commonly known as Indian red. The
inner section, which is exposed at the ends, is transparent and has the
appearance of being black, but by transmitted light it is usually
greenish.
A more recent variety of the same general kind has yellow and
white centers of opaque glass, and outside coverings of red trans-
parent glass. These later beads are tubular, ovate, and spherical, and
have a wide range of sizes. Some of the tubular and ovate beads are
an inch or more in length, and some of the spherical ones exceed half
an inch in diameter. These later beads seem to be confined to the
Northwestern trade.
Trade Values. — Trade beads occurred in a wide variety of shapes,
colors, and sizes, and in early days had definite values established by
the Hudson's Bay Company in the North, but of these there are only
a few meager records. Other traders no doubt had their standards
of value, but information respecting them is negligible.
42 Haldeman, S. S., On a Polychrome Bead from Florida, Smithsonian Re-
port for 1877, Washington, 1878.
88
BEADS AND BEADWORK
The standard of value recognized by the Hudson's Bay Company
for general trade with the natives of their region was " one made
beaver," equivalent to fifty cents, hence if an Indian desired a cer-
tain article in the trader's store, its purchase price was stated in terms
of a beaver-skin or skins. The term " made beaver " is applied to a
skin which has been dried and made ready for shipment to a tannery
through the trader.
• •
©•
Fig. 84. — Glass beads distributed by early traders in the West.
Diameter of g, one-half inch.
An interesting list of comparative values given in an anonymous
document of the middle of the 18th century 43 includes the following :
Beads valued, one pound as one beaver, kettles, one, as one and half
beaver. Powder, one pound as one beaver. Tobacco, three quarters of a
pound as one beaver.
The trade values for a small variety of beads, using the term " made
beaver " as the standard, was obtained at Fort McPherson on Peel
river in the Canadian Northwest (fig. 84). The two beads marked
43 A Short Statement of the Countries and Trade of North America Claimed
by the Hudson's Bay Company, London, 1749.
0
J * i I
#v
61 C*
^
'3>
tilt
;k\!,r^a
TRADE BEADS 89
a, of the type known to manufacturers as " Cornaline d' Aleppo " (see
page 87) and to traders of the North as " Hudson's Bay beads,"
have an exchange value of six beads for one made beaver. A trans-
parent green glass bead (b) and one of opaque yellow glass (c) were
of the same value. A light-blue bead (d) had a value of three for a
skin, and three others (e-g) two for a skin. Bead / is transparent
amber in color; e and g are blue transparent and blue opaque re-
spectively. Specimen h, a large bead of opaque glass, pale-blue in
color, was the most expensive in this group, as the trader exacted two
skins.
These valuations would seem rather exorbitant, but the transpor-
tation to many of the almost inaccessible trading-posts, both for the
beads going in and the skins coming out, alone was a matter of con-
sideration. The values noted are those of one trading-post only;
others nearby may have had about the same value attached to other
beads of the same types. Prices, however^ varied in different locali-
ties. The smaller beads, known as seed-beads, are sold in " bunches "
of five or six strings, each four to six inches long, according to the
size and kind of beads, and having a weight of four or five bunches to
the pound. The value of one bunch of seed-beads at Fort McPher-
son is said to be one beaver. The value of beads outside of the fur-
trade of the North is not so definitely established, so far as it is pos-
sible to obtain information.
Mr. A. H. Verrill has given some information as to the value of
seed-beads among the Indians of British Guiana, where a hammock is
the standard of value. He states that a hammock will purchase
enough beads to make a woman's apron (see fig. 99). A large apron
might contain a pound of beads. A hammock would also purchase
ten flasks of powder, a gun, or a girl.
Polychrome Glass Beads. — PI. xiii illustrates a selection of poly-
chrome glass beads from a number brought together from various
localities in the West. According to the Museum collections by far
the greatest number of such beads have been used by the Crows of
Montana. Many indeed have been used by these Indians as offer-
ings to the spirits of their sacred bundles, hunting charms, and simi-
lar objects. Several hundred were collected a few years ago in
Morrow county, Oregon. Many of them, no doubt, had passed
through the hands of nearby tribes of that locality, the Umatilla,
Cayuse, and Wallawalla.
The Museum collections contain a few ornamented objects from
90 BEADS AND BEADWORK
the Blackfeet Indians, attached to which are some polychrome glass
beads. A few have been procured from the Comanche, who may
have acquired them through barter with tribes to the north. A string
of about seventy beads was collected from a Sioux, which in all prob-
ability were obtained by barter with tribes to the north and west,
rather than through a local trader. Beads of this class, all of Ve-
netian make, have not had such wide distribution as the seed-beads,
probably on account of their greater cost. They are found sparingly
east of Montana. In addition to the beads shown in the illustration,
which are good examples of their class, there are many others of the
same type but with varying ornamentation, too numerous indeed to
reproduce. Such beads were not made in a factory according to set
designs, but were fashioned by families in their homes, which in a
measure accounts for the great range in shape and in decorative
patterns.
Funnel Beads. — Fig. 85 represents a unique form of glass bead of
Venetian origin known as the " funnel bead," which is said to have
been made in early days for Spanish trade in America. The term
" funnel " has to do only with the outer shape. They are of two
Fig. 85. — Glass " funnel bead " from Fig. 86. — Bead made of twisted
Ontario county, New York. Actual spun glass. Tlingit. Actual size,
size. (13/6454) (13/8398)
kinds of glass. The upper part of the specimen illustrated is of two
shades of transparent amber color, twisted spirally into shape; the
lower portion is of translucent white glass. The perforation is a
small parallel opening from end to end. These beads were of several
colors. Our specimens are about three-quarters of an inch long.
According to Mr. Rosenberg, an authority on the subject, they were
not satisfactory from the standpoint of durability. The upper part,
for some reason, did not fuse very solidly either in the spiral twist-
ing or to the white glass at the base, hence the beads were easily frac-
tured. Perhaps for this reason they did not become popular. The
only specimens of this type, so far as we know, were found in On-
tario county, New York — a long way from the territory traversed by
early Spanish explorers.
WOVEN BEADWORK 91
In early days many long tubular beads were distributed through-
out the country ; these are in a variety of colors and sizes, and all are
of opaque glass. Some of those in the Museum collection, found
with burials in Cayuga county, New York, are red, evidently made
to imitate the catlinite which had been used for beadmaking. Some
of these beads are nearly four inches long and an eighth of an inch
in diameter. Others, of blue glass and having a diameter of an
eighth to a quarter of an inch, were found in Peru. Still others, of
white glass, are attributed to Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico, but
it is obvious that they are not from the ancient ruins of that name.
These beads are not very numerous in comparison with other varieties.
Sinew-like Beads. — A necklace obtained from the Tlingit of south-
ern Alaska includes a number of beads of unusual character. Al-
though appearing as if made from a spirally wrapped cord of closely
twisted sinew (fig. 86), they are formed of spun glass twisted into a
cord and wrapped around an inner core of similar material. The
cord contains glass of two colors — a single thread of pale ruby and
several threads with a suggestion of yellowish brown in the twisting.
The combination produces a striking resemblance to sinew. These
beads were probably made at an early date in Venice, but for some
reason did not attain popularity among the Indians.
WOVEN BEADWORK
Long-standing knowledge of the principle of weaving possessed by
aboriginal Americans may in a great measure be attributed to the de-
velopment of the many intricate methods employed in the use of
beads, other than by sewing them to a surface or stringing them as
necklaces. Some of the most elaborate examples of beadwork have
been produced in a woven technique of one form or another. The
accuracy of the mechanical part of the work, together with the artistic
designs and choice of colors, is unsurpassed. In the following de-
scription of the weaving techniques, the manipulation of threads and
beads has been traced by examination and analysis, in some instances
by taking the work apart and rebuilding it, or by selecting a thread
and following it through its sometimes baffling course. The use of
beads about half an inch in diameter, with a correspondingly large
string, in reproducing an intricate weave, was very helpful in solving
a problem and in making the diagrams. Unfortunately, however, I
have had no personal opportunity to observe the work in process by
native beadworkers, and as the data on the subject have been sadly
92
BEADS AND BEADWORK
neglected in the past, the material presented will lack much of inter-
est respecting methods in general.
Square Weave
Under this heading is included that class of beadwork in which
the warp and weft elements cross one another at right angles, as is
understood in the ordinary method employed in weaving fabrics.
By their ingenuity the American Indians devised many ways of
manipulating the threads and various kinds of looms or supports for
the warp elements while the weaving progressed. With the introduc-
tion of a tastefully selected assortment of colored beads, an almost
endless variety of designs was produced. A simple form of loom
from the Tahltan of British Columbia, with a belt partly woven, is
illustrated in pi. xiv. The warp and weft elements are both made of
threads of sinew. The warp-strands are threaded through a strip of
leather, about a bead's width apart; the leather strip is reenforced
with a short stick to keep it flat. The opposite ends of the warp are
threaded through another strip of leather, the same width apart as
before. This arrangement keeps the warp-strands parallel, and as
the last-mentioned strip of leather is stiff, there is little or no danger
of buckling, and reenforcement was evidently not considered neces-
sary.
This practically constitutes what is known as a two-bar loom : that
is, a bar at each end to keep the warp taut and spaced at regular in-
tervals. In operation a leather thong or cord is tied to the reenforced
end, which in turn is fastened to something rigid, such as a house
timber or a stake driven into the ground. At the opposite end the
warp-strands which pro-
trude through the rawhide
strip are gathered and tied
with a strip of leather or
cord long enough to fasten
to the weaver's belt, or
perhaps to go round the
waist of the weaver, who,
by leaning back, exerted
the proper tension on
the warp-strands for their
convenient manipulation.
Another way of stretching such a loom has been recorded in which the
weaver, in a sitting posture, attached one end to her waist while the
Fig. 87. — Technique of the square weave
showing the use of a doubled thread for the
weft. Tahltan. (1/992)
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
TAHLTAN LOOM WITH UNFINISHED WEAVING. (1/992)
WOVEN BEADWORK
93
other was looped over her foot in such a position that the tension
could be regulated to meet all requirements.
Fig. 87 shows how the weft and the beads are laid across the warp.
A double thread of sinew is used
for the weft, which has been turned
over the first warp-strand at the
left of the drawing. A bead is
threaded on the two strands, which
are then divided and one passed
over and one under the next warp
element. The two weft-strands
are again passed through a bead,
divided, and, as before, passed one
over and one under the warp.
These movements are continued
across the width of the weave,
where a turn is made and the op-
eration is repeated in the opposite
direction. Where the turn is made
the weft-threads are crossed to
make the last bead secure, as
shown at the right of the drawing.
As the work proceeds a design is
woven by inserting beads of dif-
ferent colors at definite intervals.
Another example of the same
technique, made on fiber threads
by the Astakiwi of Modoc county,
California, is shown in the breast-
ornament illustrated in fig. 88.
The edges, however, show a differ-
ent treatment : a bead has been
added where the weft element
turns to cross the weave (fig. 89).
This places the bead with its per-
foration in a vertical position,
while the perforations of the beads
in the body of the weave are hori-
zontal. Two straps for suspending the breast-ornament from the
neck have been provided by tapering the weave on each edge and re-
Fig. 88. — Breast-ornament of wo-
ven beadwork from the Astakiwi
band of Achomawi in Modoc
county, California. (10/9610)
94
BEADS AND BEADWORK
ducing the number of warp-strands in the middle. A width of about
an inch in the middle has a finished edge, and the warp-strands are
cut off at that point. On the outer edges of the straps the warp-
strands (a) are disposed of one at a time, as the weave progresses, by
catching them under the weft elements (b), and are then cut off. It
may be noticed in the illustration (fig. 89) that the narrow straps lean
toward the center of the weave, which has been accomplished by a
gradual reduction of the number and length of the warp-strands in
the manner that those on the outside edge were disposed of. This
method of reducing or increasing the number of warp-strands in a
square weave is unusual.
Another good Astakiwi example consists of a small circular
basket, nine inches in diameter and two and three-quarters inches
deep (fig. 90) . It is of the usual Cali-
fornian twine weave, and bears a de-
sign. The outer side has been cov-
ered with beads, woven to fit the
curve of the basket. The technique
is the same as that used in
the square weave; that is, in
the manner of crossing the
threads, with the exception
that the warp-strands are fas-
tened directly in the center of
the bottom of the bas-
ket, whence they radi-
ate. The beads are ap-
plied spirally on a
double thread, one pass-
ing under a warp,
the other over. As
the circle of bead-
work increases,
extra warp-strands
become necessary
and are tied to the
Fig. 89.— Detail of square weave showing the weft or crossing
method of reducing the number of warp-strands. strings on which
Astakiwi of Modoc county, California. (10/9610) ,- b« «
the beads are
threaded. Most of the knots are concealed beneath the beadwork;
WOVEN BEADWORK
95
a few, however, show above. The weaving is attached to the basket
on the bottom at the point of radiation of the warp above referred to,
and at the rim along the last row of the spiral weave ; otherwise it is
clear of the basket. The edge, both inside and out, is covered with
looped strings of beads, about half an inch in width. Although bead-
Fig. 90,
-Basket covered with beadwork, woven spirally. Astakiwi of
Modoc county, California. (10/9603)
work on basketry in California is common, this method is unique,
and is another example of Indian ingenuity. The usual method
employed in beading basketry will be described later.
Another adaptation of the square weave is shown in a child's girdle
from the Patamona of the headwaters of the Mazaruni river, British
96
BEADS AND BEADWORK
Guiana. The beads are woven around a core of threads ; the warp-
strands are lengthwise of the girdle ; the double weft-strand carrying
the beads winds around the core spirally with two beads between each
pair of warp-strands. The
core and the warp ends
are twisted together for
the strings.
PI. xv illustrates a por-
tion of a wrapping for a
baby-carrier made by the
Mono of Inyo county, Cali-
fornia. Fashioned of red
and black woolen yarn, it is
fourteen and a half feet
long and an inch and three-
quarters wide. This is an
unusual specimen of weav-
ing, in that the beadwork
is the only bonding element
in the fabric. The tech-
nique is that described as
the square weave with a
double thread to carry the
beads. A line of beads is
laid across the width, with
one thread above and the
other below the strands of
woolen yarn which form
the warp, a bead between
each two strands. Before
another line is woven en-
tirely across, two short rows
with only four beads in
each are woven in, one
above the other. The re-
maining warp-strands are
left uncovered. Then an-
other line
Fig. 91. — Finely woven shoulder-bag of the
Chippewa. (13/7035)
is woven com-
pletely across, when two more short rows are inserted as before, but
on the opposite edge. This order of placing one long row and two
ORCHARD— BEADS AND BEADWORK
WOVEN WRAPPING FOR A BABY-CARRIER. MONO OF INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
(11/8748)
WOVEN BEADWORK
97
short ones is continued throughout the weave, so that the beads stand
out on a dark background, making a kind of fret pattern. The back-
ground is composed of the uncovered warp elements. Despite the
fact that so much of the warp is not covered or bonded in any way,
the weave is firmer than might be supposed.
Another example of fine beadwork is illustrated in fig. 91, a Chip-
pewa bag with a beaded shoulder-strap made of heavy red flannel
edged with black braid.
The central panel of the
bag is of woven bead-
work, as are the fringe-
like appendages along
the lower edge. The
technique of this weave
is shown in fig. 92,
where a single thread
has been passed through
the line of beads above
the warp and returned
through the same beads
from the opposite direc-
tion and under the warp.
Fig. 92. — Technique of the square weave
showing the use of a single thread passed
through the beads from each direction.
This panel is woven separately from the
bag, and afterward sewn to the cloth along the edges of the weave.
The design of the panel is geometrical, and the shoulder-strap has
received the same treat-
ment. The panel is bor-
dered along the top and
sides with fine-line bead-
work, the sides in a net-
like design, the top row
of the same motive but
somewhat elaborated.
The coloring of the panel
of the bag is very soft
and is composed of fine
beads, while the shoulder-
strap coloring is strong
and of coarser beads, evidently not originally intended for the bag,
and more than likely not made by the same person.
In this technique the warp-strands are stretched between two bars,
Fig. 93. — Detail of a beaded panel inserted in
the fringe of an Osage pipe-bag. (2/3240)
98 BEADS AND BEADWORK
one attached to a rigid post set in the ground or to a house-post, the
other fastened by means of a cord to the weaver's belt. Another
method employed is a fixed stretcher in the form of a frame on which
the two bars are on opposing sides : in other words, a two-bar loom.
A pipe-bag of the Osage bears a rather unusual form of decoration.
In addition to the ornamentation on the body of the bag, a panel of
beading is inserted on the fringe, which is of the square-weave type.
The warp-strands are supplied by strands of the leather fringe. The
beads are attached by the usual method of passing two threads through
a bead, one thread going over and the other under the leather strip
forming the warp (fig. 93). This panel is about four by four and a
half inches. A design is produced by the use of beads of contrast-
ing colors.
A specimen of similar technique was obtained from the Cheyenne.
The Heddle. — Varieties of the square weave have been produced by
the Menomini, Sauk and Fox, Chippewa, Winnebago, Micmac, and
nearby tribes with the aid of a heddle (fig. 94), a wooden contrivance
usually rather elaborately made and decorated. It is provided with a
number of equally spaced bars. One series of the warp-strands
passes between the bars, another through perforations or " eyes of
the heddle " in the center of the bars. These threads are in a fixed
position, while those passing between the bars are free to slide up or
down. When the warp is taut, one series is above the other, that is,
there is a space or " shed M between the two series. In textile weav-
ing the shed is provided for the passage of the shuttle carrying the
weft or crossing thread. A vertical movement of the heddle changes
the position of the threads, thus if those threads which are passing
through the eyes are above, by lowering the heddle they are carried
down and become the lower series, while those having freedom of
movement in the spaces are above.
Following each movement of the heddle the shuttle is thrown across
the weave, laying the weft between the warp-strands in the shed. If
one can visualize these movements it will be seen that the fixed
threads, or those passing through the eyes of the heddle, first cross
over a weft, and at the next movement cross under, while the free
threads first cross under and then over. This is the process of a
simple over-and-under weave. The same principle applies to either
a hand or a power loom.
It cannot be said that the type of heddle illustrated (fig. 94) is an
invention of the Indians. It was probably introduced by the Jesuits
WOVEN BEADWORK
99
or early French settlers. However, the contrivance found favor, and
was used to some extent with good results. The Indian procedure is
to thread the warp-strands of necessary length through the heddle.
The ends where the beading is to be commenced are wrapped around
Fig. 94.— Wooden heddle of the Menomini. (8/4621)
and fastened to a small stick, spread to about the width desired for
the width of the weave. The opposite ends of the warp are drawn
taut and knotted, each thread having as nearly the same tension as
possible. The knotted end is fastened to a support of some kind,
perhaps a pole driven into the ground ; the opposite end is fastened to
the beadworker's belt, so that, by a movement either toward or from
the pole, the warp is kept at the proper tension. Beads are strung on
the weft-strand and passed through the shed, alternating the position
of the warp between each crossing of the weft first from one side,
then the other. The beads are placed with two warp-strands between
them (fig. 95). So far the process is simple: that is, if the beads
are all of the same color, and no pattern is being woven.
The introduction of a design with no other guide than a mental
pattern is a complicated and difficult operation. In this case the
beads have to be counted and spaced on the weft according to color
as each line is added. By this method some elaborate designs of
IOO
BEADS AND BEADWORK
excellent workmanship have been woven, but by no means do they
excel other methods of producing the square weave which have been
described.
The use of the heddle has been confined to a comparatively limited
area and to the tribes already mentioned.
Bow-loom. — An apron of woven beadwork constituting a woman's
dress is illustrated in fig. 96. This form of garment is common
among several tribes of
northern South America
and in some parts of the
Amazon region. The
method of weaving, and
the details of the bow-loom
used, are described from
specimens and data col-
lected in the Guianas.
The loom consists of a
bowed stick with a cross-
piece secured at the ex-
tremities of the bow. This
serves the double purpose
of insuring the permanent
curve of the bow and of
, ( , f providing a support for
threads and beads in weaving : two threads for the warp-strands during
the warp, one thread for the weft. the operation of weaving.
The looms vary in size according to the dimensions of the apron to be
made. That illustrated in fig. 96 is about twenty-two inches wide be-
tween the intersections of the cross-stick and the bow. No attempt
seems to have been made to trim the sticks beyond cutting off the
branches, hence it is evident that the loom is discarded when the weav-
ing is completed. Cotton and other fibers are used for the warp and
weft elements. It may be well to mention that an apron is woven
upside down.
The weaving process is commenced by fastening four strings across
the bow, about midway between the cross-stick and the base. These
are long enough to form the tie-strings of the completed apron.
Warp elements are woven into the four strings, which are twisted in
pairs, with a warp-thread between each twist. As indicated in the
drawing (fig. 97) the warp is looped along the upper edge; the loose
WOVEN BEADWORK
IOI
ends are taken care of at the lower or finishing edge of the apron.
In the illustration the cords are spread apart to show their several
Fig. 96. — Apron loom and partly completed apron. Arakuna Indians,
upper Essequibo river, British Guiana. (4/9922)
directions ; when drawn together tightly they form the upper selvage
edge of the apron. In the next step the warp-strands are separated
into groups of about six strands each and loosely tied to the cross-bar
(see fig. 96).
Fig. 97. — Upper edge of a woman's apron showing the method of placing the
warp-strands through two pairs of twisting strings. These strings would be
inverted on the loom. (4/9922)
The manufacture of a bead apron is woman's work, and the loom
is now ready to receive the beads. With her legs through the loop of
102
BEADS AND BEADWORK
the bow, either sitting on the ground or in some other convenient posi-
tion (fig. 98), the woman doubles a thread around the first warp ele-
ment at her right-hand side, then proceeds to thread beads on the
doubled thread in number sufficient to complete the first row, which
Fig. 98. — Patamona woman weaving a bead apron on a bow-loom.
is usually of one color. Sometimes two rows are of one color. The
first group of warp-strands is untied from the cross-bar, and each
strand in its order is passed through the doubled string of beads, one
warp element between two beads. The group of warp-strands are
then tied in place and the next group treated in the same manner.
This is an unusual movement in weaving, the common method being
to cross the weft-thread under and over a permanently fixed warp.
The reason the warp has been tied in groups to the cross-bar is that
they are out of the way when not being used, and are easily untied
as occasion demands. On the completion of a line across the apron,
the loom is turned around so that the beading may always proceed
from right to left. Should the next row of beads be selected for the
starting of a design, the beads are strung as before, but are sorted in
colors by count as they are to appear in the pattern, each row being so
treated. The process of passing the warp element through the weft
or beaded string is the same throughout the weaving of the apron.
At the end of each line of beading two of the warp-strands are
twisted once around so that they shall hold the weft in place as it is
WOVEN BEADWORK
103
crowded down on to the row beneath. It will be noticed in the illus-
tration that the width of the apron increases as the beading proceeds,
necessitating the use of more warp-strands in proportion; these are
added by tying an extra pair on the sides as needed.
Fig. 99.
-Apron of a Makusi woman of Ireng river, British Guiana.
Width at bottom, 17 in. (7/4908)
The incomplete apron shown in fig. 96 has at each side an edging
composed of two doubled warp-strands, each of which has been
twisted over the weft, the usual treatment as before described for the
extreme edge. These two elements are separated by two beads, pro-
ducing an additional ornamentation to the finished apron in contrast
to the plain single edging to the complete apron shown in fig. 99.
A supply of extra warp-strands is kept near at hand, usually tied
in a bunch to one side of the bow. At the completion of the weave
the ends of the warp-threads are beaded in the form of a fringe.
The tribes represented by the Museum collection of this type of
beadwork are the Arakuna, Waika, Akawai, Patamona, Atorai, Wapi-
shana, and Makusi. Further exploration may supply knowledge of
a much wider distribution of this form of apron.
Variations of the Square Weave. — A pair of garters from the
Winnebago shows a rather unusual variation of the square weave, in
104
BEADS AND BEADWORK
which only a single thread is used for the weft and warp elements,
except the edges, which are reenforced with a double thread. The
weft crosses over and
under the warp (fig.
100), with a bead be-
tween each crossing, the
usual square-weave
method, but does not
pass through the same
beads a second time when
going in the opposite di-
rection, as in the previ-
ous single-thread weft
technique described ; in-
stead, it is carried on to
the next row of beads.
As the drawing shows,
the double warp at the
edges is twisted between
and under each turn of
the crossing thread. The
threads are made of wool
Fig. 100. — Single-thread warp and weft.
Winnebago. (9002)
yarn. At the finished ends, the warp-strands are grouped together
and braided for tie-strings.
Included in the contents of an old war bundle of the Sauk of Okla-
homa was a pair of woven beaded garters (fig. 101), no doubt a part
of the paraphernalia worn during ceremonies connected with the
bundle. They are of the square weave, that is, the warp and weft
elements cross one another at right angles. The threads are all made
of spun buffalo-wool, twisted into two-ply cords, the warp about
twice the size of the weft. A single strand is used for the weft and
two strands for the warp. The weave (fig. 102) is bonded by two
warp-strands being twisted one over the other between the rows
of beads, the weft passing through the twists. The weft is a con-
tinuous thread, crossing from one side of the weave to the other,
making a loop at each turn through which the warp-strands are
twisted. The drawing, though only three beads wide, is sufficient to
show the movement of the weaving elements. The beaded area in
these two garters is eleven by two and a quarter inches in each speci-
men. At each end the warp-strands are secured by about three-
WOVEN BEADWORK
105
quarters of an inch of
weaving without the in-
sertion of beads; the re-
maining loose ends are
left as a fringe. The
beads are blue and white,
known as " pony beads,"
a term derived from the
fact that " pony traders,"
or traveling traders with
pack-animals, were said
to have introduced that
variety. The beads are
larger than those gener-
ally used, being about an
eighth of an inch or more
in diameter, whereas the
more common variety is
about half that size.
There is every indica-
tion that this technique is
an old style of Indian
weave which was in use
to some extent soon after
the introduction of beads.
The knowledge of twined
weaving in basketry may
have been responsible for
the use of this method in
weaving such soft fabrics
as are herein described.
A number of specimens in
the Museum collections,
undoubtedly made at an
early period, are so woven.
The threads are made of
ravelings from woolen
cloth which was distributed
among the natives in early
days. Later, commercial
Fig. 101. — Beaded garters of the Sauk.
(2/8738)
106 BEADS AND BEADWORK
threads were introduced and evidently became popular, perhaps be-
cause they were regarded as a labor-saving commodity, if not as a
novelty. With the use of threads instead of cloth ravelings, the
twined or twisted weave was apparently abandoned in favor of the
Fig. 102. — Technique of the weave of Sauk beaded garters.
more simple square weave, in which two weft-strands are made to
pass over one warp-strand, with a bead between the warp-strands
holding the weft-strands together.
Specimens of the twined-warp weave have been collected from the
Mohegan, Narragansett, Alibamu, Koasati, Seminole, Osage, Sauk,
Menomini, Shawnee, and Winnebago Indians.
A simple form of the square weave was employed in assembling
wampum beads for use as belts. The warp-strands consisted either
of leather thongs (which in the Museum collections predominate) or
of cords made of vegetal fiber. The weft elements consist of vegetal
fiber, or very rarely of sinew threads. Descriptions of the processes
as recorded by early observers are very indefinite. An account of
comparatively recent date was written by Lewis H. Morgan,44 for
whom a belt was made at Tonawanda, New York, in 1850. There
is every reason to believe that both the loom and the process of weav-
ing correspond with methods and devices of an earlier period. The
loom described by Morgan is known as the bow-loom, but one is
hardly justified in assuming that this was employed exclusively, for
other means of stretching the warp elements, or lengthwise strings,
have been mentioned, although so vaguely that there are insufficient
data to reconstruct such a device. Morgan's account follows :
44 Morgan, Lewis H., League of the Ho-de'-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, Lloyd
ed., vol. ii, pp. 54-55, New York, 1904.
WOVEN BEAD WORK 1 07
In belt-making, which is a simple process, eight strands of cords or bark
thread are first twisted from filaments of slippery elm, of the requisite
length and size; after which they are passed through a strip of deerskin
to separate them at equal distances from each other in parallel lines. A
Fig. 103. — Bow-loom used for weaving wampum belts.
splint is then sprung in the form of a bow, to which each end of the sev-
eral strings is secured, and by which all of them are held in tension, like
warp threads in a weaving machine. Seven beads, these making the
intended width of the belts, are then run upon a thread by means of a
needle, and are passed under the cords at right angles, so as to bring one
bead lengthwise between each cord and the one next in position. The
thread is then passed back along the upper side of the cords, and again
through each of the beads ; so that each bead is held firmly in its place by
means of two threads, one passing under and one above the cords. This
process is continued until the belt reaches its intended length, when the
ends of the cords are tied, the end of the belt covered and afterwards
trimmed with ribbons. In ancient times both the cords and thread were
of sinew.
We thus have a clear idea of the manner in which wampum belts
were woven, a process which may be said to have been applied in
making all such belts, with perhaps a few minor exceptions. For ex-
ample, many of the existing belts are woven on leather thongs, and
vegetal fibers are known to have been used for cords and strings, such
io8
BEADS AND BEADWORK
as dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), sometimes called armyroot
and black Indian hemp; swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and
the hairy milkweed (A. pulchra), also called white Indian hemp; toad
flax (Linaria linaria), and Indian mallow (Abutilon abutilon), also
known as velvet leaf.
Fig. 103 is a drawing of a bow-loom as described by Morgan, show-
ing the warp-strands spread apart at equal distances by being passed
through perforations in pieces of leather or other suitable material,
such as birch-bark.
The manner of threading the beads varied. Instead of using a
single thread (fig. 104), as described by Morgan, a great majority of
Fig. 104. Technique of single-thread weave. The weft is led across in one
direction and back again through the same beads in the opposite direction.
Seneca. (10/4264)
the belts reveal the use of a doubled thread as shown in fig. 105. The
thread is first doubled over an outside warp-strand, as at a in the
drawing, and the two threads are then passed through a bead. They
are then separated, and one passed over and one under the next warp-
strand, when another bead is threaded on the two strings, which are
again separated and passed one over and one under the next warp-
strand. This operation is repeated until the entire width is filled with
beads, when the two strings are twisted (b) with one or more turns,
and are made to cross the weave in the opposite direction, a bead
being placed between each pair of warp-strands as in the first move-
WOVEN BEADWORK
109
ment. This process is continued until the weave is complete. A
design is incorporated by the insertion of purple and white beads at
definite intervals. The ends of the weft or crossing strings are se-
cured by a simple knot, when the
last bead is strung, or where a new
string is to be added. The ends of
the warp-strands,, which usually
project beyond the ends of the
woven portion, form a fringe at
each end. Sometimes the ends are
brought together and braided. A
small proportion of the belts have
an extra binding along the edges,
consisting of a narrow strip of
leather (fig. 104) wrapped around
the outside warp-strands with a
single turn between the rows of
beads covering and concealing the
crossing strings, in all probability to
save wear and tear of those strings
and thereby to prevent the breaking and destruction of the belt. Ap-
parently there was no fixed rule for the length or breadth of the
belts, which varied from five or six beads in width to as many as
occasion or fancy dictated. The widest belt known is mentioned
by Beauchamp 45 as being fifty beads wide. The Penn wampum
belts 46 in the Museum are approximately twenty-five inches long, one
being fifteen, the other eighteen, beads wide," or about four and a
quarter and five and a quarter inches. Another belt in the collection
is sixty-six inches long.
A band of imitation wampum beads of black and white glass, woven
in the manner commonly employed for wampum belts (see pi. xvi),
has been used to ornament a headdress made of deerskin and a piece
of a red blanket, further ornamented with albino buffalo-hair and
horns. The strings used for weaving the beads are made from ravel -
ings of a red blanket. This headdress, of Sauk origin, is in the Mil-
waukee Public Museum.
A belt made of the same kind of beads and of the usual wampum-
Fig. 105. — Technique of dou-
ble-thread weave. The two
strands are worked together.
45 Beauchamp, W. M., Wampum and Shell Articles Used by the New York
Indians, Butt. 41, N. Y. State Mus., p. 412, Albany, 1901.
46 Speck, F. G., and Orchard, W. C, The Penn Wampum Belts, Leaflet 4,
Mus. Amer. Ind., Heye Found., 1925.
IIO BEADS AND BEADWORK
belt weave came to the Museum of the American Indian with an in-
teresting history. It is said to have been taken by Gen. Benjamin
Bellows, of New Hampshire, in personal combat with an Indian dur-
ing the Revolution, and is probably of Micmac origin. It is four
feet long and four inches wide. This specimen and the headdress
above mentioned indicate that imitation wampum was introduced at
an early date; but it did not become popular, perhaps because the
color bore no resemblance to shell wampum. A few glass-wampum
beads have appeared from time to time ; these have been made to look
somewhat like the well-known purple shell beads, but the imitation is
so poor that, if their scarcity is an indication, they also were not re-
ceived with favor by the Indians.
A rather complicated weave in the form of neckbands has come to
the Museum from the Guaymi Indians of central Chiriqui, Panama.
The general appearance closely resembles that which we have de-
scribed as the square weave, produced in quantities by the Indians of
northern United States and Canada. An analysis, however, reveals
a method of assembling beads entirely different from any employed
by northern beadworkers. The neckbands vary in width from about
seven-eighths of an inch to two inches and in length from ten to
fourteen inches, exclusive of the tie-strings, which are the ends of
the warp-strands.
The weave is shown in detail in fig. 106, a few beads in width,
sufficient to show the movement of the weaving elements. At the
upper right-hand corner of the drawing a solid black line represent-
ing a thread (a) may be traced by dotted lines through the top row of
beads to the left extremity, where it turns down and passes through
the first bead of the row immediately beneath, then through the second
bead of the third row, the third bead of the fourth row, and so on
diagonally across the weave until it reaches the outer edge where at d
it is turned directly across the weave again. When it reaches the
opposite side the diagonal crossing is repeated.
The thread marked b, represented by a double line in the drawing,
is shown to pass through the first bead from left to right, then to the
line below, and straight across, where it makes a downward turn and
crosses diagonally in the same manner as the first thread. The
twisted string c passes through the second bead of the top row, and
the first of the second row, in both cases from left to right, then
through the first of the third row from right to left, and straight
across, following with the diagonal crossing as did the two previous
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
SAUK HEADDRESS ORNAMENTED WITH IMITATION WAMPUM
(Courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum)
WOVEN BEADWORK
III
strings. These three threads are given different markings so that
they may be easily traced in their movements throughout the weave.
The succeeding strings follow the same courses.
In producing this weave the beads of the first row are strung on
the crossing thread a, in
number according to the
determined width of the ob-
ject ; then the other strings
are added in order, b, c,
etc. The second row is then
threaded on the second
string, and the following-
threads passed through in
their proper order. After
the first two rows are com-
pleted the rest of the opera-
tion is comparatively easy
and is carried through in
the same manner line for
line. The long ends of the
threads above the first row
are gathered into groups of
three or four, and a num-
ber of beads threaded on
each group. These threads
are so arranged at each end
of the weave and are of
such length as to form
tie-strings for the neckband.
The extreme ends are left
uncovered and are braided
into a single strand.
In the progress of weav-
ing the completed part is
wrapped around a small
stick for convenience.
The beadworker carries his supply of beads, strung in assorted colors,
in a small gourd attached to his belt. Designs are introduced by
inserting beads of different colors at counted intervals, without the
aid of a pattern. The work is done by the men of the tribe in their
Fig. 106. — Detail of a variety of cross-
weaving by the Guaymi Indians of Panama.
(13/7616)
112
BEADS AND BEADWORK
spare moments, much as our women do their knitting, taking their
work with them while visiting their neighbors or to occupy their
time when traveling. Beads of the most brilliant colors are evi-
dently preferred ; the softer shades in the examples of beadwork
of the northern Indians are entirely lacking. Gaudy glass beads
made to imitate burnished gold and silver are popular with many
of the Panama people. A number of ornaments made of these
have been added to the Museum's collections.
Another interesting variety of the square weave was found among
the Mosquito Indians
of Nicaragua. Fig.
107 shows the move-
ment of the threads
employed. That
marked a is a contin-
uous weft-thread pass-
ing through the rows
of beads first from
right to left, then
turning down to the
next row and going
from left to right, on
again to the next from
right to left, and so on
throughout the weave.
Fig. 107. — Detail of the " skip weave " in neckbands The warp-strands c
from Nicaragua. (13/2553) , , i i i <•
and a are added from
the right side of the beads along the top row, then alternate with
each row. Threads b and e are started from left to right to insure
the correct disposal of loops along the edge. As the drawing shows,
only every other bead is supplied with a warp element. The objects
so made are in the form of neckbands which vary in width from an
inch to two niches and in length from ten to fourteen inches. The
warp-strands are made sufficiently long to form the tie-strings gath-
ered into groups, partly beaded and braided into a unit.
Bias Weave
An example of weaving in which the warp and weft elements
change places in alternating lines, the warp becoming the weft and
the weft taking the place of the warp, is illustrated in fig. 108. The
WOVEN BEADWORK
113
specimen was made for a neckband, of dark
blue and white beads, with horsehair for warp
and weft elements. The stiff unwieldy na-
ture of the horsehair does not produce a soft,
pliable weave, for which reason, perhaps, ar-
ticles so constructed are not by any means
common. The procedure in this case was to
select hairs long enough to obviate the neces-
sity of introducing new ones, so far as pos-
sible. The extreme length of the specimen
illustrated is fourteen inches, and only close
examination reveals where a few new hairs
have been added. The same weave, but with
soft fiber instead of horsehair, has been
largely used for streamers on hair-ornaments,
also for necklaces by several tribes, but it
does not appear to have had a wide distribu-
tion. The tribes represented by the Museum's
collection are the Prairie and Forest Potawa-
tomi, Menomini, Sauk, Fox, Delaware, Oto,
and Winnebago. Dr. Speck collected speci-
mens woven on horsehair from the Osage.47
From the East we have an example of the
weave on soft fiber from the Penobscot in
Maine, said to have been in the possession of
one family since 1825. In this case, however,
the beads are purple wampum with an edg-
ing of white wampum. The object is in the
form of a band, thirty inches long by an inch
and a half wide, and was used as a neck- or
breast-ornament. An interesting feature of
this specimen is that the beading is so ar-
ranged as to produce a curve to the band
(fig. 109), this result having been brought
about by inserting beads of graded lengths
at the points where the ornament leaves the
shoulders to cross the breast. The shortest
47 Speck, F. G., Ethnology of the Ynchi Indians,
University of Pennsylvania Museum, Anthr. PubL,
vol. 1, no. 1, p. 49, Philadelphia, 1909.
Fig. 108.— Neckband
of bias weave with
horsehair warp- and
weft-strands. Fox In-
dians. (2/7849)
ii4
BEADS AND BEADWORK
beads are woven into the upper edge, and gradually longer ones are
used as the lower edge is approached ; consequently the lower edge is
expanded and the upper contracted so far as the graded beads have
been used.
There are three such specimens in the Museum collections from the
Penobscot. Long streamers of this weave on soft fiber were worn by
Fig. 109. — Wampum necklace of bias weave. Penobscot. (8182)
women of Western tribes mentioned above, attached to the hair at the
back. The hair was gathered and drawn tightly from front to back,
parted at the middle, and then enclosed in a piece of cloth about five
inches wide and fifteen inches long, usually wrapped with a woven
bead-strip of square weave, not the bias weave, and quite frequently
with some highly esteemed silk ribbon of brilliant color. The cloth
wrapping was invariably ornamented with panels of beading at each
end, sewed directly to the cloth. The streamers only were of the bias
weave, of width varying from a quarter of an inch to an inch and a
quarter, and about four feet long.
The same technique was employed for the horsehair and soft fiber
weaving. The detail of the weave is shown in fig. 110. The weav-
ing elements are in pairs, knotted through a strip of soft-tanned
WOVEN BEADWORK
115
leather about a bead-width apart. A bead is threaded on the first
pair, which we will call the warp, at the right-hand side when they
are separated, one strand being passed over and one under the next
or second pair, when another bead is threaded, the strands separated,
Fig. 110. — Detail of the bias weave. Fox Indians. (2/7849)
and passed over and under in the same manner. The movement is
repeated until the row is completed, when the two strands are turned
down lengthwise. During this movement the strands are used as a
weft element, and in turning them down they become the warp. The
second pair at the right are treated as were the first, and so with the
succeeding strands, until the weave is finished. The ends of the
horsehairs or threads of other material are then passed through a
piece of soft-tanned leather and knotted as in the beginning, when the
edges of the leather are sewed together, which conceals the knotted
ends. The leather strip is about half an inch wide and long enough
to make tie-strings when the article is to be used as a neckband.
Many elaborate designs have been wrought in this weave by the
use of various colored beads. These designs are mostly geometric,
although some attempt has been made to depict flowers and leaves,
and one specimen bears a design representing birds.
Under the head of streamers there is an interesting method of
manufacture which consists of a simple three-strand braid with a
bead inserted at each outside turn of the braiding. The detail is
shown in fig. 111.
n6
BEADS AND BEADWORK
A variation of the bias weave occurs in some neck-ornaments col-
lected from the Chippewa of Minnesota. The method hitherto de-
scribed is that by which the beads are threaded on the crossing or
horizontal strings ; but in this variation the beads are on the vertical
Fig.
1 1 1. —
Detail of three-
strand
braid
streamer.
Kick-
a p oo.
(10/
5615)
Fig. 112. — Detail of variation
in bias weave. The beads are
strung on the vertical threads.
Chippewa. (10/1288)
threads, which are in pairs. When they are turned to cross the
weave, they are passed between the upright strings. The drawing
(fig. 112) indicates the use of four beads to a string, sufficient to
show the variation in technique, whereas the specimens have seven
or eight beads on each pair of strings, and are eight strings in width.
PI. xvn illustrates a common form of a diagonally woven sash
ornamented with white beads inserted during the weaving, and the
accompanying sketch (fig. 113) shows how the thread bearing the
beads is incorporated into the weave. The beads are strung on a
small thread, not the woolen yarn of which the sash is made. The
thread is woven in between the weaving elements, crossing over and
under in regular order with a bead between each crossing. This
technique limits the introduction of designs other than angular pat-
ORCHARD BEADS AND BEADWORK
PART OF AN IROQUOIS SASH WITH WHITE BEADS INTERWOVEN
The Dark Portion is of Red Worsted; the Edges are Gray. (2/9675)
10
WOVEN BEADWORK
117
terns which follow the course of the weaving strands. This form of
ornamentation is widely distributed, and is common among some of
the Iroquois tribes. The Kickapoo, Menomini, Sauk, Fox, Chippewa,
Creek, Osage, Micmac,
and Ponca have contrib-
uted this technique to
the Museum collections.
A small bag of woven
beadwork, made by a
Comanche Indian for
holding cornhusks cut to
shape for use as cigarette
wrappers, reveals an in-
teresting and somewhat
complicated technique.
The specimen is inde-
pendent of any support
for the beads other than
the threads woven
through them. Accord-
ing to some very indefi-
nite information, the bag
was woven on a smooth
round stick. When
completed the weave was
tubular in form, and was
slid from the stick, one
end of the tube being
closed with some overlaid
stitches to make a bag. In the process of making, the first row of
beads is held together by means of two threads, which are passed
through each bead, crossing each other in the perforation indicated
by the dotted lines in fig. 114. This forms the foundation, which
is wrapped around the smooth round stick of suitable size, preferably
slightly tapering. The succeeding rows of beads are built up spirally
on the foundation by a thread passing down through a bead, through
a connecting loop of the foundation string, up through the same
bead again, and on to the next bead. The illustration shows the
movement of the threads. The specimen is ornamented with various
colored beads so arranged as to make a wave-like design, with ex-
cellent results.
Fig. 113. — Detail of part of a beaded woven
sash. The bead-bearing thread crosses over and
under the warp- and weft-strands. Seneca.
(9470)
n8
BEADS AND BEADWORK
The same technique has been used with very small beads (pi.
xviii ) in making a necklace from Guatemala; but unfortunately it is
Fig. 114. — Detail of the weave of a Comanche bag for cigarette wrappers
cornhusk. (5/6592)
of
without definite data, and indeed it is not positively known to be of
Indian origin. The interesting features of the object are that this
particular technique
(iufcrTfli should be found in
Guatemala, and the
size of beads used.
It is truly a micro-
s c o p i c piece of
work. The beads,
known to the trade
as Tinised beads,
are the smallest
made, being only
about a thirty-sec-
ond of an inch in
diameter.
Two specimens
of woven bead work
similar in technique
to the Comanche
pouch and the neck-
lace from Guate-
mala have been col-
_ , , v _, . , , , , . , , , , . lected from the
tig. 115. — Chipped blades with woven bead decoration. . .
Ute. (13/6930-31) Ute, consisting re-
S%& rfSiV^Si
ORCHARD BEADS AND BEADWORK
NECKLACE OF SMALL GLASS BEADS FROM GUATEMALA. ACTUAL SIZE. (5/6592)
WOVEN BEADWORK 119
spectively of a chipped stone knife-blade or spear-point, and a stone
arrowpoint (fig. 115), decorated with colored beads bearing designs
and probably made for use as charms. The parts to be decorated
were first covered with cotton cloth, fitted closely to the shape of the
object. The first row of beads is sewn to the edge of the cloth
around the middle of each of the objects. The thread passes down
through a bead into the cloth and up through the bead again, then on
to the next bead
(fig. 116), which
is treated in the
same manner,
and so continued
around. The
succeeding rows
of beads are
sewn in the same FlG- H6.-Detail of weave in fig 115. The first row of
beads is sewn to the cloth foundation,
way, but instead
of the thread entering the cloth, it is caught under the threads, pass-
ing from one bead to the other around the first row, The difference
between these two specimens and the small Comanche pouch and
Guatemala necklace is in the commencement, otherwise the technique
is the same. The interesting feature is the well-formed symmetrical
design produced on objects of such irregular shapes.
Parental affection for children is proverbial among the American
Indians, a fact exemplified by the stupendous piece of work in orna-
menting the Comanche cradle, or baby-carrier, shown in pi. xix.
The frame is of wood, decorated at the points with a few brass-
headed nails ; the body is of tanned deerskin lined with cotton cloth.
The decoration of the body consists of a solid covering of very fine
glass beads ; the artistic designs are wrought in various colors, while
the background is of opaque white beads. There are about four hun-
dred and thirty square inches of this beadwork, with about two hun-
dred and eighty beads to the square inch, hence the number of beads
aggregates one hundred and twenty thousand. A somewhat intricate
technique has been employed, in that two threads have been passed
through each bead. Taking into consideration the number of beads
and stitches, and the fine calculation necessary to produce the elaborate
design, one can imagine the amount of time and energy spent in this
labor of love.
The technique and the relation of beads one to another in this
120 BEADS AND BEADWORK
elaborate object are shown in fig. 117. It will be seen that the com-
bination of beads and threads forms a kind of network, with the beads
taking the place of knots at the corners of the meshes. It must be
Fig. 117. — Detail of woven beadwork on the Comanche cradle shown in pi.
xix. (5/7467)
understood that the drawing shows the work spread apart to illustrate
clearly the direction of the threads ; in the original decoration the
beads are all in contact, concealing the threads. The single line across
the bottom of the drawing represents the leather base to which is at-
tached the first course of beads. This was done by sewing a row of
beads in a straight line across the leather, spaced apart so that a second
row may interlock. The illustration shows the way in which the first
row is held in place, the dotted lines indicating where the thread has
entered the leather. The second row of beads is not sewed to the
leather, but to the first row by passing a thread through the beads, as
shown. The succeeding rows are sewed one to another in the same
way, the beads interlocking. The insertion of the design takes place
as the rows of beads are laid together. The various colors are placed
in the continuous lines as they are built up, requiring fine calculation
as to where and how many beads are to be employed, so that the
design shall be well balanced and in the proper position. Some
roughly drawn pattern may have been at hand as a guide, perhaps
some markings with charcoal on a piece of leather, or a pencil and
paper may have been used ; often, however, such work was accom-
plished without the aid of a pattern.
The work on this specimen was done in sections. There are three
spaces without pattern where the beads are laid on in a direction oppo-
site to that of the rest of the work. The entire mass of the weaving
is fastened to the leather base only around the edges of the sections.
The finishing edge is fastened in the same manner as for the first
edge, as shown in the illustration; the side-threads have their ends
knotted into the leather.
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
COMANCHE CRADLE WITH WOVEN BEADWORK DECORATION. (5/7467)
WOVEN BEAD WORK 121
Among certain tribes property right in designs is recognized.
Many designs are derived from dreams. Thus, if a woman or a man
has a particular form suggested in a dream, it is carefully worked out
and perhaps elaborated during waking hours. Should the design
prove attractive to other persons, or if some potency should be at-
tributed to it, before others may use it a price must be paid to the
original owner or his consent to the use of it must be obtained.
Baby-carriers, or cradles, differing in form and technique, and
more or less ornamented, are widespread among the Indians. The
materials of which they were made were often selected with care and
ceremony. Porcupine-quills, dyed in many colors, and beads were
used in the decoration, particularly by the Indians of the Plains.
Many fine examples are in the Museum collections.
A pair of wristlets of Comanche origin are ornamented with a
bead technique similar to that used on the baby-carrier shown in pi.
xix. The foundation in this instance is different. The first row of
beads are sewed to the leather in such a position that the perforations
are vertical; the succeeding rows are secured in the same manner as
in the decoration of the baby-carrier. This beadwork technique oc-
curs to some extent among the Kiowa, Comanche, and Caddo, and it
is found on costumes, including footwear, and on ceremonial objects.
Many of the wands, rattles, and sashes used in the Peyote ceremony
are thus decorated with elaborate designs and esthetic coloring.
Net-like Weave
Examples of a net-like weave of beads, including several varia-
tions, have been collected from many parts of the North American
continent, the same fundamental principle being applied throughout;
that is, a bead is made to function as a knot in netting. Most of the
specimens are neck-ornaments.
The neck-ornament shown in pi. xx was produced by the Washo
of Nevada. The foundation consists of a piece of cotton cloth
through which the strings of the netting are tied in pairs, as shown
in detail in fig. 118. A bead is threaded on each pair of strings and
placed in contact with the cotton cloth. The strings are then sepa-
rated and three beads are strung on the single threads. At this stage
the nearest strings of the adjoining pairs are brought together and
held with one bead ; then the strings are separated and each supplied
with three beads. The strings forming the original pairs are then
122
BEADS AND BEADWORK
held together with one bead, separated again, and three beads strung,
brought together as before, and supplied with a bead which holds the
meshes together. This operation completes a series of diamond-
shape meshes, as shown in the illustration. The length of the cloth
Fig. 118. — Detail of the mesh of the Washo neck-ornament shown in pi. xx.
(8/4582)
foundation and the number of pairs of strings used are of course de-
termined by the size of the object to be made. The specimen under
discussion is 14^4 inches long and 8^2 inches wide. The length of
the meshes averages half an inch. The ends of the strings are
threaded with a number of beads, forming a fringe along the lower
edge of the beadwork. The strings in this weave are all vertical,
and the cotton cloth which forms the foundation is long enough to
provide tie-strings.
One of the variations is shown in a headband (pi. xxi) made by
Indians of San Juan river, Colombia. The foundation, instead of
being a strip of cloth as in the case of the Washo specimen (pi. xx),
is a string with closely threaded beads the entire length of the object
(fig. 119). The strings forming the body or network are looped
WOVEN BEADWORK
123
Fig. 119. — Detail of the mesh of the headband shown in pi. xxi. (1/2259)
along the foundation cord with four beads between each looping. In
making the loop, the thread is passed up through a bead, over the
foundation cord, and down through the same bead. Then two beads
are strung and the looping operation repeated, and so along the length
Fig. 120.— Network bag of the Yuma of Arizona. (4/8800)
124 BEADS AND BEADWORK
of the headband. Thus it will be seen that the supporting threads
for the beads are in a horizontal instead of a vertical position, in con-
trast to the Washo neck-ornament. The next line of beads is placed
in the same manner, looping on to the line above it, with two beads on
each side of the crossing. The bead at the point of intersection con-
ceals the crossing and takes the place of a knot in netting. The
whole weave has been accomplished line by line by attaching one to
the one above. This ornament is made in an unbroken circle. The
ends of the foundation cord are tied together and the looping carried
around, the ends tied, and the knots neatly concealed between the
beads. A finishing edge is provided by a string of beads attached to
the last row of loops, in a manner corresponding to the first line along
the top edge. The band is two and a quarter inches wide, and is
made long enough to fit snugly a normal adult head.
A bag collected from the Yuma of Arizona (fig. 120) shows fur-
ther variation. Like the specimen from Colombia, this is woven with
horizontal threads, but with the difference that the strings do not loop
over the foundation
cord. Fig 121 is a
diagram of the system
showing the use of a
double string for the
foundation with beads
threaded on in groups
of three, with both
strings passing
through, then one bead,
Fig. 121.— Detail of the technique of the Yuma on one string only,
network bag. „, • i iL j
The single beads
placed on one string drop below the line of the three beads on both
strings, as may be seen in the drawing. The network is attached
to the single beads of the foundation in the manner also shown.
The meshes,: it will be observed, are small, having only one bead
between the points where the meshes come together. There is a
band about three-quarters of an inch wide around the mouth of the
bag, woven in' this manner. Below this is another band of about the
same width, with two beads between the points of intersection, which
increase the size of the mesh. The remaining portion of the netting
is made with three beads between the points, which, of course, still
further enlarge the mesh. A short carrying-strap is provided for
-%„....
11
WOVEN BEADWORK
125
the bag ; this is made in the same manner as the top row of beading.
The drawing shows the beads spread apart; but when they are
brought together in proper position they present a closely woven
appearance, not at all suggestive of network, which does not show
until the meshes have been enlarged by the additional beads.
Fig. 122.— Netted collar of the Mohave. (9/70)
Another example of beaded network, from the Mohave in Arizona,
is shown in fig. 122. In this instance the supporting strings for the
beads are vertical, doubled over a foundation cord with two beads be-
tween the crossings (fig. 123). A band about an inch and a quarter
wide is made of meshes with one bead between the points ; the re-
maining width has the meshes extended by the use of two beads. A
fringe along the lower edge is made by beading about an inch of the
vertical strings and tying the ends together in pairs, with a large
globular bead over the knots.
An exquisite example of the vertical string technique was collected
126
BEADS AND BEADWORK
from the Mono at Lone Pine, Inyo county, California (pi. xxu).
The foundation in this case is a band of square weave, the detail of
which is shown in fig.
87. The vertical strings
are cast over the selvage
edge of the band. The
first four rows of meshes
are supplied with three
beads between the points
of intersection' of the
meshes, but the meshes
following are gradually
increased in number until
FlG\}2u'~Detuil °lthe t?ch^(lu1eoo0f ^ "e,tted the bottom rows have
Mohave collar shown in fig. 122. (9/70) , 1
ten and eleven beads be-
tween the points, making a mesh of one inch from point to point
when extended to its greatest length. The lower edge is fringed by
beading about three-quarters of an inch of the ends of the vertical
strings ; the upper edge is ornamented with pendants of haliotis-shell
on beaded strings.
Neck-ornaments of the vertical-string type have been collected
from several tribes of Nicaragua and Panama. With these peoples
the foundation consists
of a single thread,
beaded its entire length,
alternating beads being
used to support the ver-
tical threads (fig. 124).
Geometric designs are
woven into these varia-
tion's of a net-like weave
by the insertion of beads
of contrasting colors at FlG- 124.— Single-string foundation of beadwork
, . , , from Nicaragua and Panama. (13/7624)
regular intervals.
A necklace of netted weave between two parallel lines was col-
lected from the Indians on Rio Napo, Department of Oriente,
Ecuador. The detail drawing (fig. 125) shows a weaving of six
strings which are first gathered in pairs and a few beads threaded.
Then they are divided into a series of single strands; the two outer
ones retain their position, while the four between are woven di-
WOVEN BEADWORK
127
agonally across, forming a net-like fabric with beads inserted at the
intersections, where the knots of netting would be made. The cross-
ing strings are passed through beads which are threaded on the two
outer parallel threads at
regular intervals. The
drawing indicates the di-
rection of the threads and
the positions of the beads ;
the spaces are exaggerated
to show the technique
more clearly. The com-
pleted end is finished by
gathering the six strands
into pairs as at the be-
ginning, with a few beads
threaded to hold the pairs
together. The loose ends
of the threads are of suf-
ficient length to be made
into three-strand braids at
each end of the weave
for use as tie-strings. A
design is made by the in-
sertion of various colored
beads at measured inter-
vals. The specimen is
half an inch in width.
Examples of the same technique have been found among the Chokoi
Indians of Panama.
A necklace composed of white glass beads was collected from the
Akawai Indians on Essequibo river, British Guiana. The tech-
nique of the weave is very simple, as the drawing indicates (fig. 126).
The two rows of twining strands lengthwise of the necklace are made
of loosely twisted pink-dyed wool which bears a strong resemblance
to commercial yarn. This may have found favor with the Indians,
as have the beads of commerce, although, according to the Museum
collections from the region, commercial yarn does not occur in any
similar weave. The smaller threads supporting the beads are of na-
tive fiber, closely twisted. The mode of operation was not recorded
by the collector, but it may be surmised that the two strands were
Fig. 125. — Detail of netted necklace from Rio
Napo, Ecuador. (1/1764)
128 BEADS AND BEADWORK
attached to a support of some kind, such as a pole stuck in the ground,
a common device among aboriginal weavers. The beads were ap-
parently strung and passed between the strands of yarn, and the yarn
Fig. 126. — Detail of technique of a beaded necklace from British Guiana.
(7/5043)
twisted after each loop of beads. No particular care was taken while
making the looped fringe, as there are ten to fifteen beads to a loop ;
but there are always two beads between the rows of yarn. The ends
of the yarn were used as tie-strings.
SEWING TECHNIQUES
Two distinct methods of sewing beads for the purpose of entirely
covering broad surfaces have been employed by Indians, and each has
a wide distribution. These are known as the overlaid or spot stitch,
and the lazy stitch. In many instances, examples of both types have
been collected from a single group of beadworkers.
The first of these methods, and the one having by far the wider
distribution, has been employed by practically all Indian beadworkers.
By its means it has been possible to produce any of the patterns that
the esthetic taste of the Indians might suggest, either the graceful
curving floral designs so beautifully executed by the Woodland tribes
or the severely geometrical ornamentation so typical of the Siouan
group. This method, termed the overlaid or spot stitch, has been
used for covering broad surfaces in mass, where the leather or cloth
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
EAXMPLE OF OVERLAID OR SPOT STITCH ON A DELAWARE SHOULDER-STRAP. (7/5687)
SEWING TECHNIQUES
129
to which the beads are attached is entirely concealed, or for the very
delicate line-work shown in the admirable example illustrated in pi.
xxvii. In this technique the beads are threaded on a string and laid
in the desired position, following the lines of the pattern when an
overlaid stitch is made between a number of beads, sometimes two or
three, or, as in a few cases, between each pair. The latter, however,
occurs only in an exceptionally fine piece of work or where some very
short turns in the lines of decoration are made. The overlaid stitch
passes over the string on which the beads are threaded (fig. 127), and
Fig. 127. — Detail of the overlaid or spot stitch. The dotted lines show
where the sewing thread turns under the surface of the material receiving the
decoration.
through the surface only, if the material being decorated is leather;
but if the material is cloth, the stitches are carried through from
front to back. Thus the string of beads is sewed to the material. If
a broad surface is to be covered, line after line is attached, the lines
laid close together. The design is executed first and the background
filled in afterward.
The second method has been termed the lazy stitch. In this form
of decoration the beads are applied in a series of bands, each com-
posed of transverse strings of
beads. In this instance (fig.
128) there are seven beads to a
string, but the number varies
according to the artist's taste and
requirement to fit the decoration
in mind. Varying colors may
be introduced, so arranged as
to produce a design. The fig-
ure illustrates the manner of
sewing the beads to the article
being decorated. Should it be
leather, a thread either of sinew or of some other fiber, with a knotted
end, was passed through a perforation in the surface of the material ;
if cloth was to be decorated, the stitches went through the fabric from
front to back. Following this, the requisite number of beads are
Fig. 128.— Detail of the lazy stitch.
The dotted lines indicate the turn of
the thread under the surface of the
material being decorated.
130
BEADS AND BEADWORK
threaded and another stitch made, so that the beads may lay flat, at
the same time being crowded close together on the string. The
stitch is made at a right angle to the row of beads, emerging at the
li
i^l !ji!f;
all
wmm
! i 5 1 ; ,• i ; ) ; . : : ■' * i ; ; :
tutu;*;
Fig. 129. — Example of the " lazy stitch " on a panel of a Sioux beaded pipe-
bag. (1144)
point where the next row of beads is to be laid, which in this tech-
nique are always close together. This next row is laid in the same
manner as the first, as are the succeeding rows side by side. The
result is a band of solid beadwork about three-quarters of an inch
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
CAUGHNAWAGA MOCCASIN DECORATED WITH BEADWORK
The Leaves on the Instep are of Transparent Glass Beads. (1/6925)
SEWING TECHNIQUES 131
wide, more or less according to the number of beads to a row. Thus
the embroidery is built up in bands which present a striking- contrast
to the work produced by means of the overlaid stitch. The sewing
may be done with a needle, or, as is often the case when a sinew
thread is used, the pointed and stiffened end of the moistened sinew
follows a perforation made with an awl. Nearly all the objects of
leather thus decorated are sewed with sinew. A design is introduced
by spacing and counting the beads, sometimes according to a pattern
marked on the leather, but more frequently without.
Illustrations of the two techniques are shown in pi. xxiii and fig.
129. It will be seen that the lazy stitch has a well-defined ribbed
effect, owing to the disposal of the beads in short rows side by side.
In contrast, where the overlaid stitch has been used to cover a sur-
face, the lines of beads are continuous and in some instances follow
the shape of the design.
An attempt was made to trace the distribution of these two tech-
niques. The materials in the Museum collection indicate that the use
of the overlaid stitch prevailed among all beadworkers of the North'
American continent, whereas the lazy stitch was confined largely to
the region west of the Mississippi, extending only a little north of
the Canadian boundary. Specimens of both techniques, however,
have been collected from the Loucheux of Canada. This distribution
must not be taken as conclusive, for a definitive statement can be
made only after an examination of all available specimens of North
American beadwork, which would scarcely be possible at this time.
There is, however, a variety of lazy stitch found in the East which
we feel justified in classifying under another head. This I have
called the raised technique. The sewing is practically the same as
that of the lazy stitch proper, the difference being in the stringing
of the beads, which may be described as follows :
The technique employed in this work is such that the pattern is
raised and not sewed flat to the basic material as is ordinarily the
case with beadwork. The designs are mostly of a floral nature and
are especially adaptable to this type of ornamentation, by which some
very beautiful specimens have been produced. The raised portions
are sometimes as much as half an inch above the material to which
the beads have been sewed, but the average is about a quarter of an
inch. A cut-paper pattern of the leaves and flowers with their stems
is first firmly sewed to the material. A commercial thread, or, in
some cases, a thread of native make, is used for sewing both the
132 BEADS AND BEADWORK
patterns and the beads. The raised effect is produced by first attach-
ing the thread to the starting point on the pattern. If that should be
a leaf, the midrib would normally be selected. More than a sufficient
number of beads to fill the length of the midrib are placed on the
thread, which is then caught into the material and the edge of the
paper pattern. There being more beads on the thread than necessary
for the length of the midrib, they form an arc between the two points
of contact with the pattern. The veins of the leaves being worked
out in the same manner from the midrib to the edge of the leaf,
a raised or looped effect is produced, which in some cases is very real-
istic. The lines of beads are all so close together that it is not pos-
sible for any of the loops to lie over to one side. The stems or single
lines are all more or less flat. Transparent colorless glass beads have
been used to some extent in this technique, particularly in the older
specimens ; otherwise many specimens show the use of opaque beads
of many tints.
This particular form of decoration is usually applied to a back-
ground of cloth, and the paper pattern no doubt was considered to be
the easiest and most practical way to lay out the design to be beaded.
Black cloth seems to have been preferred, and when transparent beads
were used the paper lent more body to the color of the decoration.
Most specimens of this technique in the Museum collections were ob-
tained from the Caughnawaga and Tuscarora. Judging by the ap-
parent age of some of the work, this form of decoration was adopted
during the early stages of beadwork. Other specimens have been
collected from the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Mohegan, and
some closely related work has come from the Penobscot. PI. xxiv
illustrates a moccasin of Caughnawaga origin having an instep piece
with leaf and tendril design wrought in transparent glass beads. The
bordering lines are white opaque beads, the inner line is composed of
two rows or strings of beads which are attached to the foundation at
irregular intervals by a crossing stitch (fig. 127), as in the case of
the edging around the ankle flap. The outer edge of the instep is
trimmed with pairs of beads attached with a diagonally crossing stitch.
Fig. 130 portrays a pouch, bearing the same form of decoration,
collected from the Grand River Iroquois in Canada. The beads are
of opaque glass. The double-row edging is applied as in the case of
the Caughnawaga moccasin. The detail of the beading on the edge
of the flap to the left in the illustration is shown in fig. 131.
Other examples of raised technique are shown in pi. xxv, in which
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
IRL'S COAT FROM THE ESKIMO OF THE WEST COAST OF HUDSON BAY. (6/7302)
ORCHARD — BEADS AND BEADWORK
PL. XXVII
CLOTH LEGGINGS OF THE CHIPPEWA DECORATED WITH SILK APPLIQUE OUTLINED WITH
LINES OF BEADS. (13/5900)
12
SEWING TECHNIQUES
133
the beads are attached to birch-bark with a paper foundation, in the
manner that such ornamentation has been applied to cloth. The use
of birch-bark for this purpose, however, is unique, and so far speci-
mens of this kind have been obtained only from the Mohegan. The
Fig. 130. — Beaded pouch of the Iroquois of Grand River reservation, Canada.
(1/6947)
objects illustrated are fragmentary and are probably parts of trinket
boxes.48
Bead-ornamented garments made by the Eskimo are not common.
The most highly decorated pieces have been obtained from the region
of Chesterfield inlet on the west coast of Hudson bay. PL xxvi
48 See Speck, F. G., Northern Elements in Iroquois and New England Art,
Indian Notes, vol. n, no. 1, 1925.
134 BEADS AND BEADWORK
illustrates a hooded coat of a Kenipitumiut Eskimo girl of that terri-
tory.49 According to Low, the Aivillingmitit, who occupy the coun-
try northward of Chesterfield inlet, are the Eskimo who came in
closer contact with American whalers, hence, as might be expected,
their art, among other phases of their life, has been more or less
modified by civilization. The art of beadwork may have spread to
the south from these people. A woman's elaborately beaded coat re-
cently acquired by the Museum is said to have been obtained from the
Padlimiut, who occupy a wide territory, including Rankin inlet, south-
ward to Churchill river and westward to Dubawant lake. Capt.
George Comer, a whaler who has made extensive collections of
ethnological material and data from the Eskimo of the west coast of
Hudson bay, says that such garments are the most cherished of all
their possessions and are worn only on special occasions. Captain
Comer also says that beads were introduced into that region by Parry
and Lyon during their search for a northwest passage in 1821-22 and
that he saw some beads in possession of one of the natives that had
been originally obtained from those explorers and which had been
handed down from mother to daughter.
The technique employed in the beadwork of this region is the over-
laid stitch; that is, the beads are strung and attached to the garment
with a stitch cast over the thread on which the beads are strung. In
addition there is a quantity of beaded fringe, some with looped ends
and others with pendants of small caribou-teeth.
An exceptionally good example of fine-line beading is shown in the
pair of Chippewa leggings illustrated in pi. xxvu. They are made
of broadcloth of the kind that found favor among the Indians in their
early trade with the whites. The decoration consists of a somewhat
conventionalized floral design of silk applique in a variety of colors
outlined with delicate lines of beads. This is an instance in which
European materials exclusively were used very effectively by the In-
dians to express their esthetic sense without the introduction of even
a suggestion of European ideas as to design or color. The combina-
tion of color and design is truly artistic, and may be classed among the
best specimens of the kind in the Museum collections. The beads
are first strung and then attached to the leggings by an overlaid stitch
(%• 127).
49 The name of this group is recorded by Low, A. P., The Cruise of the
Neptune, Ottawa, 1906, p. 135.
ORCHARD BEADS AND BEADWORK
IOWA INDIAN HAIR-ORNAMENT MADE FROM A BUFFALO-TAIL, DECORATED WITH WAMPUM
BEADS. FROM A SACRED BUNDLE
(Courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum)
EDGINGS
135
PI. xxviii illustrates a specimen in the collection of the Milwaukee
Public Museum, showing an unusual use of wampum. It consists of
a hair-ornament made of a bison's tail, which was part of the para-
phernalia found in an Iowa buffalo doctor's bundle. The hide has
been spread out, roughly tanned, and decorated with thirteen rows of
wampum, originally seven beads in each row, with the exception that
near the lower end the hide has been perforated for some purpose,
and here in three rows only six beads each were used. The unusual
feature is that the beads have been sewed directly to the leather with
a sinew thread, instead of being woven together and then fastened in
place. This is the only specimen so far brought to notice where
wampum beads have been so used. Several of the beads are missing,
but enough remain to reveal the fact that a pattern has been worked
with purple and white, consisting of a band of dark beads, three
beads wide, down the center, and two cross-bands at the lower end.
The whole has been smeared with blue paint.
EDGINGS
Many articles made of leather or cloth have been embellished with
a beaded edging regardless of whether the surface has been orna-
mented or not. Fig. 131 illustrates an almost universal type. As
the drawing shows, the
thread is passed through
a bead, then through the
edge of the material, and
up through the bead
again. Another bead is
threaded, and the thread is made to go through still another bead
before passing through the material. By this arrangement there are
beads in alternating positions, vertical and horizontal, only the latter
being sewed directly to the edge. This form of ornamentation has
been applied not only to clothing, but to all kinds of objects to which
some form of decoration could be attached.
A less common method
is shown in fig. 132,
which is found more f re-
q u e n 1 1 y on specimens
from the Northwest than
elsewhere. The Tahltan
have employed it to a
great extent in ornamenting their gambling-stick bags, knife-sheaths,
Fig. 131.— Detail of two-beaded edging. (2/1129)
Fig. 132.-
-Detail of single-beaded edging.
Tahltan.
136 BEADS AND BEADWORK
and pouches. As will be seen in the drawing, a single row of beads
only is used, and the thread crosses itself between the beads. In
both drawings the beads are purposely spread apart in order to
show the movement of the threads. In the finished work the threads
are hardly visible.
An uncommon form of
line-work is illustrated in
fig. 133. Instead of a
single row of beads such
as is commonly employed
for line decoration, two
Fig. 133. — Detail of two-beaded line-work.
rows of beads are used
with a looping stitch. The dotted lines in the drawing show the po-
sition of the threads under the cloth. This technique has not been
found on leather. The solid lines indicate the position of the thread
looped above and passing through the beads. This technique has
been used by the Alibamu, Choctaw, and Koasati, with some very
pleasing results. Circles and scrolls are the dominating features of
their designs.
BEAD INLAYS
Uses for glass beads for ornamentation other than the usual meth-
ods of stringing, weaving, or sewing them, have been found. The
Eskimo of Alaska have decorated many of their objects with bead
inlays. Among these may be mentioned the bead labrets once com-
monly worn by the Eskimo on the Alaskan mainland and the islands
northward from Kuskokwim river.
Nelson 50 has described the method of making and preparing a hole
for the reception of a labret :
The hole is made just below each corner of the mouth and at first a
long, thin, nail-like plug of ivory, about an inch in length, having a slight
enlargement at the inner end, is thrust through the opening and left for
some time. After the wearer becomes accustomed to this a somewhat
larger plug ... is inserted in the hole for the purpose of enlarging it.
This process is repeated, a larger plug being used on each occasion until
the hole is of the size desired. In many cases the hole is so large that the
teeth are visible through the opening when the labret is not in place.
The increasing contact with civilization has rendered this form of
decoration almost obsolete. Fig. 134 represents a labret from the
50 Nelson, E. W., The Eskimo about Bering Strait, Eighteenth Ann. Rep.
Bur. Amer. Ethnol, 1896-97, pt. 1, p. 48, Washington, 1899.
ORCHARD— BEADS AND BEADWORK
NEEDLE-CASES'OF. WALRUS-IVORY INLAID WlTH SECTIONS OF BEADS. ESKIMO OF
POINT BARROW, ALASKA. (3/4703)
BEAD INLAYS 137
Eskimo of Point Barrow, Alaska, made of walrus ivory with half of
a large blue-glass bead set in the center of the disc. This type was
used by the men. The woman's labret was a small sickle-shape object
with a small flat button on one end to hold
it in place. When two of these were
worn they were sometimes connected with
a string of glass beads across the chin.
Two needle-cases made of walrus ivory
are illustrated in pi. xxix, which are
ornamented with pieces of beads inlaid. pIG 134 Labret of wal-
The beads have been split in two along rus-ivory with bead inlay.
,, r ,. 1 ,1 1 ir ,- • Eskimo of Point Barrow,
the perforation, and the half -sections, m- Alaska. (10/8284)
serted in cavities made for their reception,
are secured with some kind of glue. The harmony of color makes
these two objects very attractive. This form of decoration is ap-
plied by the Eskimo to numerous articles. In addition to those il-
lustrated there are hunting and fishing charms, mouth-pieces for
drills, and dolls, of both ivory and wood. In the case of the dolls,
the beads are used for the eyes, usually a white bead of suitable
size so set that the perforation represents the pupil. Carvings of
animals in wood and ivory are sometimes treated in the same manner.
The Indians of California have contributed many specimens show-
ing the use of beads for inlaying. Invariably these are small discoidal
shell beads and are applied to objects of stone, bone, and shell. Many
of these have already been fully described. 51
An example of shell ornaments decorated with small discoidal beads
so common to California is shown in fig. 135. A number of stone
rings of problematical use have received the same form of decoration,
as have mortars and pestles ; and many bone flutes and whistles have
been similarly treated. In all these objects the disc beads have been
cemented in place with bitumen.
The Huichol Indians of Mexico have produced some remarkable
specimens of bead-ornamented objects, most of which were designed
for use in religious ceremonies. Carvings of wood representing ani-
mals, tablets of wood, bowls made from gourds, and numerous other
things intended as votive offerings, are all more or less covered with
elaborate designs in beads of various colors embedded in a thick coat-
ing of beeswax.
51 Heye, G. G., Certain Aboriginal Artifacts from San Miguel Island, Cali-
fornia, Indian Notes and Monographs, vol. vn, no. 4, 1921.
138
BEADS AND BEADWORK
PL xxx illustrates two gourd bowls, one with a conventional floral
design, the other with figures representing deer. Some of the beads
were strung before being pressed into the wax, others were placed
Fig. 135.-
-Lsevicardium shell ornamented with disc beads.
California. (9/4907)
San Miguel island,
one by one. The ceremonies associated with these objects have been
described by Lumholtz.52
A collection of pottery figures in human and animal forms have
been added to the Museum collections from the Carib Indians of
Dutch Guiana. These are said to have been made for use in the
survival of an old ceremony whose significance is now practically lost.
However, a great deal of care has been exercised in the manufacture
of the figures, for in addition to their decoration with painted designs,
they are supplied with glass beads for eyes.
BEADED BASKETS
Bead decoration on baskets is fairly common among some of the
basket-making tribes of California. This style of ornamentation was
52 Lumholtz, Carl, Symbolism of the Huichol Indians, Mem. Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist., vol. in, New York, 1900.
BEADED BASKETS 139
not confined to the use of glass beads of commerce, for in the Mu-
seum collections there are many excellent specimens of baskets on
which shell beads of native manufacture have been used. PL xxxi,
however, shows the use of glass beads for this purpose. This speci-
men, of Pomo origin, is of the typical coil weave, with a single-rod
foundation.53
A better understanding of the method of applying beads in this
form of decoration will be gained from a brief description of the
basket technique. The " single-rod foundation " consists of a rod of
willow or of other flexible material, shaved to a uniform diameter
and of size according to requirements. Commencing at the bottom
of the basket the rod is bent around spirally, and the spirals sewed to-
gether with some other flexible material, such as roots of plants or
the soft stems of willow or rhus, which when thoroughly soaked in
water are so pliable that the rod foundation may be entirely con-
cealed. The sewing is a wrapping or " coiling." The stitch passes
around the rod and is caught into or under the coiling of the adjoin-
ing spirals as the weave progresses. As the basket grows in the
making, additional rods are spliced with an even joint to the preced-
ing ones. Some of the work is so fine and the materials are drawn
together so closely that a well-woven basket is practically water-tight.
The design on the specimen illustrated was produced by the use of
black coiling material in contrast to the light-colored material form-
ing the rest of the weave. The pattern has been further emphasized
by the application of dark-colored beads, while white beads have been
incorporated in the coils of the background by passing a strand of the
coiling material through one bead at each stitch.
In most cases where shell beads have been used they are sewn to
the basket after completion of the weaving, as an auxiliary orna-
mentation. More often, however, they were used as an edging at the
rim or were strung and used as handles.
A very unusual specimen of beaded basketry is from the Nootka
of Vancouver island. It is made of cedar-bark splints of the checker
weave, in which the warp and weft are of the same width, crossing
one another at right angles, one over and one under. Large so-called
Russian beads of dark-blue glass have been threaded on the elements
at somewhat irregular intervals (fig. 136). A design has been woven
into the basket with strips of bark dyed red and black. The rim is
53 See Mason, O. T., Aboriginal American Basketrv, Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus.
for 1902, Washington, 1904.
140 BEADS AND BEADWORK
ornamented with rows of beads, one red and the other blue, sewed on
with a thread in the manner shown in fig. 133.
Fig. 136.— Nootka basket made of cedar-bark with glass beads interwoven.
(6/3341)
Art in beadwork, like other means employed to give expression to
the esthetic side of Indian life, is fast yielding to the encroachment of
civilization. In a measure the trader's influence is responsible for the
perceptible decline. Very often objects are produced solely for trade,
and often with designs whose meaning is entirely lost. Indeed it is
frequently the case that meaningless patterns have been devised,
sometimes at the suggestion of traders ; consequently genuine native
art in bead embroidery with its designs so replete with meaning
and significance is rarely produced today. Not alone in this respect
is the finer work becoming scarce, but in the haste to supply the com-
mercial demand the excellent workmanship so characteristic of earlier
times is now almost unknown.
More regrettable still is the fact that the religious activities of the
Indians, which, as with other peoples, have done so much to stimulate
their art expression, are sadly misrepresented and discouraged. With
a new mode of living forced upon the Indians, the day is not far dis-
tant when distinctively aboriginal American art will be a thing of the
past.
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